Genesis 3 Fate and Luck
by SpencerandHotchlover
Summary: Sequel to Genesis 1 and 2 While this story still has Jasper and Bella they are only minor characters as it is more about one of their sons Bryon and how he finds his mate. M/M relationship so if you are against that kind of thing don't read.


Genesis 3

Fate and Luck

March 24, 2110

Bryon stood in the doorway of the club New Wave and observed the room. His red eyes, which looked hazel in the dim light, took in everything around him and it didn't seem to matter that the lights of the club were very dim by design.

You might ask how Bryon could see every little detail of the room considering the lights were very dim and the answer would be simply that Bryon, along with his entire family were vampires, real vampires who lived off human blood. Bryon's family was quite large which was unusual by vampire standards, but what was also unusual was the fact that he and all his siblings were the real children of their parents and not just humans turned into vampires so that Jasper and Bella could have a family.

How could two vampires have children you might ask? And the answer would simply be that Jasper and Bella had, run across the Shrine of Artemis in Greece and fixed it up as good as new without asking anything in return. In return for fixing her Shrine the goddess Artemis had given them a magical necklace that would allow even a vampire to have children and so Bryon and all his sibling's had been born.

Bryon looked around the room again and spotted himself a target to drain of their blood on his second sweep. One of the reasons Bryon liked the New Wave so much was because it was a place that anybody could come and do whatever they wanted and no questions would be asked unless you were under 21 that is. The bartender was even disinterested in finding out your life story unlike most men of his profession in more reputable bars. Bryon came here often to find himself a meal since the New Wave didn't care what he did do so long as it didn't come back to bite them in the butt and that meant bringing the authorities to the club's door.

Bryon also came here not to just find himself a meal, but to dance with other men and then feed off them afterwards for you see Bryon was gay and had known it for about fifty years. Of course the human men didn't live very long after Bryon was done playing with them as he made a meal off them after he had relieved his sexual tension by letting whatever man he was dancing with fuck him while he fucked them at the same time. He could masturbate true and he often did, but Bryon had discovered that letting other men relieve the sexual tension was much better as the orgasm was more powerful then doing it himself, even if it didn't really mean anything.

Bryon had often longed for a relationship like the one his parents had or even Gerik and Brianna or Lindsey and Trey, but so far he had never been in a serious relationship that lasted more than a single night.

Suddenly Bryon felt a prickling sensation as if somebody was watching him covertly and his gaze swept the room again and as his eyes fell on a human who was sitting at the bar seeming to be trying to drown himself in whatever alcohol he was drinking.

Bryon saw the man throw a look over his shoulder in his direction again and when he saw that Bryon had noticed his covert glances he instantly turned away and Bryon knew that the human would be blushing bright red in embarrassment at being caught staring.

Bryon was intrigued. There was something about him… Something that wanted to get to know him and possibly even go out on a real date with him, so Bryon immediately decided to get closer as he never ignored his instincts.

As soon as the stool beside the man was empty Bryon was ready and slid onto the seat before anybody else could.

Bryon saw the man, whom he didn't even know the name of, eye him covertly again and Bryon was immediately taken in by his gray eyes that were so light as to be almost colorless or at least they looked that way in the dim light.

Have I finally found my mate? Bryon asked himself internally. I am drawn to him, almost like a magnetic to a lodestone. The second I looked in to his eyes, all I wanted to was protect him from the world and anybody or anything that could hurt him, intentionally or not. The demon inside Bryon growled in agreement with his thoughts and Bryon had to take a second to control himself as he had the strongest urge to bite the man sitting beside him and before he even knew his name.

The bartender came to where Bryon sitting and handed him a drink. Bryon looked at the glass then back at the bartender and said, "I didn't order this."

"It's from the young lady over at the table behind you," the bartender said.

Bryon threw a covert glance over the table behind them and then immediately turned away when he saw that the girl was staring at him with obvious eagerness and lust on her face. Bryon knew that if he accepted the mug he of beer would be forced to at least spend some time with the girl whether he wanted to or not so he waved the bartender away and let him know that he wasn't interested in any drinks from her or any other girls.

The bartender nodded looking surprised but it wasn't really his place to pry as that wasn't what he was paid for.

"I didn't come here to pick up girls," Bryon informed the bartender calmly. "And I'll have a whiskey, neat, please."  
The bartender nodded and went to prepare Bryon's drink.

When Bryon threw another look over his shoulder he saw the girl's disappointed look and Bryon hoped that that would send the girl a message that he wasn't interested in dancing, with her much less interacting with her in anyway.

If she kept pestering him though, he had no problem with making a meal off her and draining her very life essence until she was dead, even though he usually preferred men for his meals he had no problem getting rid of a female that annoyed him, because if she was old enough to be in a place as disreputable as this then she was old enough to face the consequences of her actions.

Seeing that one girl had failed to gain the attention of the handsome man seemed to put the fire under about a dozen other young women's asses who didn't seem to have anything better to do then to pester him to death.

"Come on, dance with me," one of them said trying to look coy.

"No thank you," Bryon told the blond haired beauty politely his body not reacting at all to the women who tried to entice him to pay attention to them. He ignored her disappointed look as the bartender brought his whiskey.

"Can I buy you a drink?" asked another.

"No, you cannot," Bryon said beginning to lose his patience. "If I want to dance with one of you I'll ask, but right now I just want to be left alone, so go away, please, I'm not in the mood to deal with fan chicks who don't know when to stop and leave a man alone."

Some of the girls looked furious as his comments, but Bryon didn't particularly care as they were the ones that had started bothering him until he lost his temper and it took a lot to do that as he was normally very even tempered. In that way he was very much like his father who rarely lost his temper.

"Can I have this dance?" Bryon asked turning to the dark haired man that he didn't even know the name of yet, who was sitting on the stool beside him not seeming to be paying attention to the chaos going on around him.

The man looked up at him and blinked in surprise, but when he saw Bryon was serious nodded eagerly.

"Ah," Bryon heard the girls mutter in disappointment as Bryon took the man's hand and led him out to the dance floor.

"So do I get to know the name of the man that asked me to dance?" asked the dark haired man and he and Bryon began to sway on the dance floor.

"My name is Bryon Franklin Whitlock, but you can call me Bryon and what is your name?"

"Scott Nathaniel Blackwood is my name, but you can call me Scotty."

Bryon immediately noticed that Scott had a very thick accent, that immediately identified him as coming from Scotland and he knew that if he didn't have his vampire hearing he probably would've had more trouble understanding Scotty. Well, that and the fact that he had spent a lot of time in Scotland and so was familiar with how the Scots talked and formed their words. "Scotland really was a beautiful country and he would love to go back sometime even if that was 5 or 600 years from now.

"It's nice to meet you Scotty. I'm sorry if I put you on the spot, but those girls were really beginning to annoy me and it takes a lot to make me angry as normally I'm pretty even tempered."

"It's alright," Scott said, blushing a little as he looked into Bryon's godlike face, his alcohol clouded senses disabling his ability to sense that Bryon was very dangerous as normally he would probably do his best to avoid someone that set off some kind of primitive instinct. At this moment that primitive instinct should have been warning him that Bryon was so dangerous that he should be avoided at all cost if he didn't want to lose his life, but also what he didn't know, but would soon was the fact that Bryon would never hurt him as that would be like sticking a knife in his own heart. Bryon was really the most handsome man Scott had ever come across and that was saying something considering he had dated a lot of handsome men in the last couple of years. With his wavy blond hair that was shoulder length, his eyes which looked hazel or maybe brown, although it was hard to tell in the dim light, his skin, which was completely white, without the normal pinkness that characterized a human's normal skin tone and his body, which was to die for or at least what he could see of it under Bryon's clothes. Any man in his right mind who was also gay or at least bisexual would be vying for his attention, not to mention the women as had already been proven just minutes ago. The way Bryon had brushed all those women off though had been mildly amusing as had the fact that even though those women had discovered he was gay it hadn't discouraged most of them in the slightest.

"I saw you come in and I was thinking that there was no way you could be interested in anything but girls, but it turns out I was wrong about that, unless of course, you're just using me as a way to get away from that flock of girls and I won't blame you in the slightest if that is the case as they were being rather annoyingly persistent, even when you made it clear that you weren't interested."

"And if I was?" asked Bryon getting hit with strong waves of Scotty's lust and desire and it was gratifying to know that Scotty desired and lusted after him, but if he didn't do something about it soon he was going to attack Scotty right out there on the dance floor and he definitely didn't want to hurt or embarrass him.

"Then that's okay too although I've never been somebody's shield before," Scott replied.

"Well, as it happens I am gay," Bryon admitted, "straight gay actually, which means I have absolutely no interest in women at all except as friends."

"Well, this is my lucky day then, since I'm straight gay as well," Scott said looking pleased.

Bryon studied Scott's handsome face and noticed several imperfections that he knew would be burned away as soon as Scotty went through the transformation into a vampire. Whoah! What was he thinking? Even if Scotty was his mate it was much too soon to even be thinking in those terms as he hadn't even known the man for an hour yet. All in all Scotty had very few imperfections at least on his face, which was almost all Bryon could see of his dance partner, except for his hands. Scotty had beautiful hands with long slender fingers that Bryon could just imagine giving him pleasure, just by running lightly over his body. Whoah! He definitely needed to turn his thoughts in another direction or he really was going to attack the man right here and now, Bryon thought trying to turn his thoughts away from the fact that Scotty was the most handsome human man he had ever seen with his long shaggy black hair, a face to die for with it's high cheekbones, high intelligent brow and the unusual gray eyes. And don't even get him started on Scotty's lips, which he could easily imagine kissing forever and never wanting to release them at all. Once Scotty was a vampire Bryon would be paying special attention to those lips and kissing them as often as possible.

Quit thinking about Scotty as a vampire, Bryon ordered himself silently as he continued to dance as closely to Scotty as he could possibly get. It's way too soon to even think of changing him into a vampire. The demon within him disagreed, but Bryon clamped down on that part of him so that the demon wouldn't do anything rash before he was ready.

"So why don't you tell me about yourself?" asked Bryon trying to sound like it was only casual interest when really it was anything but.

"Oh there's nothing really interesting to tell," Scott protested.

"Well, why don't I tell you little bit about myself and then you can do the same?" Bryon asked.

"Why?" asked Scott curiously. "Unless you intend this to be more than a one time thing there's no reason for me to know anything about you, beyond your name and the same goes for you."

"I asked you to dance because I really am interested in it being more than a one time thing," Bryon explained as calmly as possible.

"Why don't we find a table and sit down," Scott suggested. "My feet are killing me anyway and if we're going to talk the least you can do is buy me a drink."

"I'll be happy to buy you as many drinks as you like," Bryon said, "just as long as you're not to drunk to talk.

"Us Scottish are known for being able to hold our liquor, can you say the same?" Scott boasted.

"And how would you know if you can hold your liquor, because unless you started drinking right when you turned 21 you would have no way of knowing that as you can't possible be more then 23."

"Buy me a drink and keep them coming and I'll tell you my story, but I warn you it isn't a very pleasant one," Scott said his tone turning rather grim and dark.

"Alright," Bryon agreed leading Scott off to a corner table that had just emptied out. "What kind would you like?"

"Just a beer as I really don't need to be getting too drunk if I want to be coherent," Scott requested politely. "All I ask is that you keep them coming and in fact just bring a pitcher over here."

Bryon nodded and left Scott at the table and went to the bar and ordered Scotty a pitcher of beer.

"So?" asked Bryon as soon as he had returned with the requested pitcher of beer and two glasses.

"You might as well get comfortable it's a long tale and not at all pleasant," Scott said as he took one of the glasses from Bryon and poured himself a beer, while Bryon did the same for appearances sake as he couldn't get drunk and the alcohol would just be absorbed into his venom a little fact he had discovered when he first started coming to bars to find himself a meal.

"Well, as you probably guessed I'm originally from Scotland if you haven't already noticed that by my accent," Scott began. "I was like any other normal boy really, but as I grew, from a child to a man that was old enough to start noticing girls I begin to notice that I didn't have the slightest bit of interest in the opposite sex. Sure, I had plenty of female friends and other girls tried to get my attention, but I never dated, not once in all my school years, as I couldn't think of any of the females that I knew as anything other than friends or sisters. This didn't really worry me at the time because I figured I was just a late bloomer like some people are, but soon I went from 14 to 16 and I still didn't have any interest in girls at all.

"My parents began to worry that I hadn't talked about a single girl that I was attracted to or been out on a single date and so they started practically throwing every girl they knew that were around my age and single in my direction, but although I was polite to all of them I still refused to go on even a single date as I just could not force myself to be attracted to any of them. Sure they were pretty, and a few were even gorgeous but my mind noticed those attributes rather clinically, if you know what I mean."

"Yes," Bryon agreed trying to stop growling at the thought of Scott being forced to date when it was clear he wasn't interested. "It's kind of like seeing the world through rose-colored glasses. Like you have taken a step outside yourself and away from your emotions."

"Exactly," Scott agreed relieved that Bryon understood what he was getting at. "There was no passion there I guess you would say. It was kind of like I was looking at an exquisite piece of art and while I like art as much as the next person I'm not passionate about it."

Scott took a sip from his mug and Bryon pretended to do the same, but dumped it on the floor when Scott wasn't looking. It was true that he could drink alcohol but that didn't mean it didn't taste like shit so he was going to avoid drinking it as much as he could.

"Well shortly after my parents finally stopped throwing every girl they knew in my direction I begin to notice that whenever I was near a handsome man my body reacted. I was 17 almost 18 at this point and it didn't take long for me to come to the conclusion that I was gay and not straight or bisexual since girls had never interested me, at all at least not in that way.

"I didn't know it then, but that is what my parents secretly feared and so they started negotiating a marriage contract with a family that were good friends with ours and had a daughter of marriageable age. I found out later that my parents wanted me to marry her as soon as I turned 18 which was only a few short months down the road. I of course, knew nothing about this so I was completely shocked and disgusted to discover it when my parents presented me with a contract to sign on my 18th birthday, which was like only a couple of weeks into the summer holiday. Luckily for me the law in Scotland was on my side and the only way an arranged marriage is legal is if the recipients are of legal age so they can they both sign the marriage contract that states that they are wedding on their own free will. Up until then I had always been an obedient son doing anything my parents requested, but after they showed me the marriage contract they wanted me to sign I sat at the kitchen table stunned with tears in my eyes wondering how the parents I loved and trusted could betray me and also why it hurt so much."

"It's hard, because you loved them and then they betrayed you," Bryon told Scott wanting to comfort him but they weren't close enough or far enough into their relationship for him to be able to do that so he just held Scott's hand under the table instead. "And yes it was a betrayal in the truest sense of the word, because they didn't bother to talk to you at all or to ask why you hadn't dated. Did they bother to bring the subject up at all?"

Scott shook his head negatively.

"Which proves my point, they just assumed that you were gay but they had no proof and to make matters even worse they decided without your consent to negotiate a marriage contract for you even though the law was that you had to sign it in order for it to be legal and to surprise you on your birthday like that…just makes me so angry and very glad my older brother and his wife would never do the same thing to me or my sister."

Bryon decided right then that he wasn't going to mention his other siblings until Scott knew about the vampire world and also from now on he was going to refer to his father as his older brother instead as both him and his mother looked too young to be his parents. Plus he and his dad looked enough alike that it should pass muster, until he was ready to tell Scotty the truth.

"I never thought of it like that," Scott admitted after a moment, "but you're right. I did love them and they then go and negotiate a marriage contract behind my back without even asking me if I was willing to be married at eighteen, before I even have a chance to figure out what I wanted to do with my life, if I wanted to go to college or not. In any case let me continue with my story so that we don't have to discuss it again as their betrayal still hurts."

"Alright," Bryon agreed as calmly as possible, "continue, but only if you are ready to."

"I am," Scott said straightening his shoulders and taking another sip from his beer before he continued. "I went through the contract immediately realizing what it was and as I said I was completely stunned. Finally I looked into my parents eyes who were waiting for my reaction and I remember my exact words. They were: No, I don't want to be married to this girl, a girl that I think of like a sister and I don't care if she and her family are old friends. I want to go to college and have a life outside of this little town. I might get married someday, but I will not be forced to marry just because you think it's a good idea. I know very well if I don't sign this it means the contract is null and void for it has to have my signature as well as the intended bride's in order to be legal and I see that you haven't gotten her consent either.

"I remember that my parents looked absolutely flabbergasted that I would deny them as I had always been the son to never cause any problems, but before they hadn't tried to get me to do something against my conscious. Trying to force me to marry when I was just barely 18, made my conscious scream at me not to sign my life away. My subconscious screamed at me that I had dreams, I wanted to go to college, get an education, get a good job that paid the bills, you know the kind of dreams that any red-blooded boy has."

Scott took another sip from his glass and put it back on the table before he continued.

"My parents told me to take a few days to think about it, but that if I didn't sign within the next week they would disown me and throw me out on my ear. I made the decision right there to just move out and instead of letting them disown me. I waited until the middle of the night and having packed everything I wanted to take with me I simply shimmied down the drainpipe that was right outside my window and got in the car that I had worked so hard to earn the money to get and rode off into the night never looking back."

Scott took another sip from his beer and Bryon thought he was done but after a moment Scott continue this story concluded with, "I learned later from my younger brother Henry, who managed to get a message to me without my parents knowing, that even though I had technically run away my parents had still decided to disown me and to tell people that they had thrown me out for unspecified reasons. He also said that he had been ordered along with my other brother and my two sisters to never mention my name or try to contact me again and that I was now dead to them and my name was to be stricken from the family tree, so that it would be like I had never existed at all."

Bryon growled lowly feeling the venom fill his mouth at Scotty's words having trouble controlling his emotions enough to not frighten Scotty as that was the last thing he wanted. Bryon swallowed his venom and thought that what Scotty was telling him was appalling and what he really wanted to do was hunt down Scott's parents and teach them a little lesson that would start with them being in as much pain as possible for as long as possible and would eventually end with their deaths as that was the only way to adequately repay the pain they had deliberately caused his mate.

Yes, Bryon was positive that Scott was his mate as he never would or had to date reacted like this for anybody else. He wanted to protect Scotty from anything that could hurt him whether it was physically, mentally or emotionally it didn't matter.

"Let me just say that what your parents did to you is absolutely appalling and believe me the way I feel right now I simply want to go find them and murder them in their beds," Bryon told Scott a little boldly hoping that he would not scare Scotty away with his words, words he couldn't help because he was so furious.

Scott looked astonished at Bryon's words, but he didn't look the least bit scared and in fact he even smiled a little.

"My knight in shining armor," Scott teased. "Yes, what they did hurt me," he added more seriously after a moment, "but that was five years ago and I've mostly gotten over it although it still hurts when I think about it, but mostly because I miss my brothers and sisters, not because I miss my parents. From the perspective of years it seems that I should have seen the events that led to me running away. My parents were always kind of distant and cold although they were good at faking affection. I really didn't know the difference until I ran away and started working odd jobs in order to support myself. I dated some just not much as I didn't have the time or the money. Eventually I finally realized that I got more real affection out of my temporary boyfriends then from my parents in my whole life. Once I turned 21, which was just a little bit less than three years I started bartending as I knew my drinks thanks to my father who had taught all three of his sons bartending so we would always know what kind of drink a guest wanted and how to mix it. After that it got easier as bartending brought in plenty of money and I was able to move out of my very cold and cheap apartment into a better place the same one I'm at now."

Oh, how his mate had struggled and if Bryon had only met him when he had first run away he would have made sure that Scott never wanted for anything, which he would indeed make sure of now. He was going to open an account in Scott's name and put $1 billion into that account. Bryon was sure that Scott would probably object so he wasn't going to tell him until after he was changed. He would have done that anyway, because if his father had taught him and his children anything it was vampire customs and one of the customs was that it was customary to give a newborn vampire enough money to get started in his or her new life and then teach them how to invest so they always had money coming in. A vampire might not need to eat, but they did need clothes, things for entertainment, traveling money, more than one place to live, since as vampires they had to move around frequently. Bryon was also sure, that his mother and father would also add money to Scott's account once they learned about him, just as they had done for all of their children. Once he introduced Scott to his parents he was sure they would fall in love with him and the only problem was that he had never told anyone not even his parents that he was gay and he had been keeping it a secret for fifty odd years. He wasn't really looking forward to that conversation and it made him just a tad nervous about telling them. How do you tell your parents that you've been keeping such a big secret from them for half a century? He knew that his parents had noticed that he had been kind of depressed for the last decade or so as he struggled with the fact that he had not yet told him he was gay, not with his sexual preferences as he had come to accept the fact he liked men a long time ago.

He was almost positive that he parents wouldn't care if he liked men, but it was that slight bit of uncertainty that made him so nervous and what had prevented him from telling them until he absolutely had to. Would they still love him once I found out? Or would they disown him just like Scott's parents had done to him? Well, he was about to find out very soon whether or not they would still love him or throw him out on his ear? What would his brothers and sister's think, would they hate him for the fact that he was gay? He would worry about those particular issues only when he absolutely had to.

"Is it too soon or presumptuous to ask you out on a date? Tomorrow?" asked Bryon trying to not sound eager after he was sure Scott was finished with his story.

"No, it is not too soon or too presumptuous at least not for me as I really like you," Scott said laughing a little, "and yes I would love to go on a date with you."

"Well, here's my communicator number," Bryon said writing his number down on a slip of paper from his pocket.

"And here is mine," Scott said writing on the slip of paper that Bryon handed him along with the pen.

"Can I take you back to your apartment so you can get some sleep? You're bound to have one hell of a headache in the morning with as much as you've drunk tonight," Bryon said.

"And so will you as you drank just as much as I did," Scott said, "Despite the headache I'll wake up with I can't wait to see you again. This has been the best and happiest night of my life in a very long time. I probably haven't had a day this good since I was a child."

"Happy to be of service," Bryon said looking ecstatic that he had been able to give Scott so much happiness.

"So what are we going on our date tomorrow?" asked Scott as both men walked outside towards Bryon's car.

"I thought we'd go see a movie unless you have other ideas," Bryon suggested.

"No, a movie sounds good, especially for a first date and luckily I have the day off tomorrow or I never would have drunk so much."

"Where do you work?" asked Bryon thinking that his mate should not be working like a common human, but on the other other hand Scott had to support himself somehow.

"I work at one of the snazziest bars in New York," Scott said his accent even thicker thanks to him being so drunk. "It is seriously uptown, and that is one of the reasons I only need the one job because they pay so well and I also get to keep all the tips I get from the customers and some of them tip very well." Scott gave the name of the bar as The Raven and Bryon had heard of it, but had never tried hunting there as was to much security and it was very unlikely he would be able to feed in peace, without getting caught, not that getting caught really mattered to a vampire, but still Bryon just hadn't wanted to go through the hassle of feeding in unfamiliar territory. Besides the humans that went there weren't really his class of people, not when it came to hunting anyway so he hadn't been, but now he would have to go out of curiosity now that he knew his mate worked there.

"I've heard of it, but I have never been. I guess I'll have to visit now, now that I know you work there."

Scott blushed, but didn't respond. "So do you have a car?" asked Bryon.

"Yes, it's right over there," said Scott pointing at his car that was at least six years old if not ten or more.

"Why don't you give me the keys and I'll drive you home," Bryon suggested. "I can catch a cab back here in order to pick up my car. I don't want you driving with as drunk as you are, and if I let you drive in your current state you would probably end up in the hospital, if not dead."

Bryon shivered in real fear as he thought of Scott laying in some hospital bed in a coma or worse dead because he had decided to drive so drunk. He wouldn't let that happen if he could help it as Scott was now his life and if he died so did he.

"Why aren't you walking crookedly slurring your words," Scott asked his Scottish accent very thick. "You drank just as much as I did."

"I have an excellent metabolism for liquor," Bryon told Scott only half truthfully. "Besides I really watched what I drank as I figured that I would be driving you home."

What Bryon didn't say was that alcohol didn't effect him like it would a human, sure he could drink it, but it just got absorbed into his venom and it didn't make him drunk or give him a headache like it did to regular people that weren't vampires.

"And you were right about that," Scott admitted as Bryon helped him into the passenger seat of his car.

Bryon started the engine and slowly backed out of the parking place heading to Scott's apartment with the directions that Scott gave him while half asleep.

Once he got there he found Scott's house key in his pocket and put Scott over his shoulder and carried him easily into his apartment and put him to bed. Before leaving he made sure to lock the door behind him after leaving Scott's car and apartment keys in plain sight, so that Scott would see them when he woke.

~~~Bryon and Scott~~~

Bryon was almost whistling as he ran back to where he usually hunted as his hunting trip had been interrupted thanks to his meeting Scott, but he wouldn't change a single thing about the night as he had met his mate and he literally ached to be near him, but at the moment that wasn't possible. It was nearly three o'clock in the morning so he didn't have a lot of time to hunt, so he would have to feed quickly and then get back home, before the sun rose as it was supposed to be sunny that day, which was why he had left Scott a note along with the keys and told him that he would pick him up at seven that evening as the movie was at eight.

What Scott had been through in his 23 short years made Bryon want to go and find his parents and give them a good lecture about loving their son no matter what. They had hurt his mate deeply as Bryon had inherited his father's empathic talents and so he could tell. Scott might not love them anymore but that didn't mean that he still wasn't deeply affected by what his own flesh and blood had done to him.

Besides you never really stopped loving your parents no matter how lousy in that role they were. Scott was after all flesh of their flesh and blood of their blood and that created a certain connection since they shared the same generic material.

It was amazing to Bryon that Scott was such a different individual from his parents. He was so warm and caring, while if Scott's description of his parents was to be believed they were nothing but two cold fish, without a shred of compassion in either of what passed as their shriveled husks of souls. To throw an 18 year old out on his ear, not caring if he died, told Bryon just how cold and uncaring the old Blackwoods really were. Sure Scott had run away, but had the older Blackwoods begged for him to come home? No instead they really had thrown him out instead of worrying where their son was out in the cold, hard, cruel world, with no money or at least not much. Apparently to them appearances were everything as they wanted to be perceived as the perfectly normal family and Scott disrupted that by turning out to be gay.

Bryon grimly shook his head and quickly hunted himself down a meal not even caring if they were criminals or not, although in this section of town that was more likely than not.

What he really wanted to do, was go to Scotland, locate the older Blackwoods, and torture them for a month or two before he finally ended there miserable existences. Who knew, maybe once Scott was changed he would want revenge on the parents that had so mistreated him, but if he did not Bryon was going to have to honor that wish as he didn't want his mate upset with him, even if it made his venom boil with anger at the thought of Scott's parents not getting what they rightfully deserved for treating their son, their own flesh and blood, so cruelly.

Bryon waited at the door of a different club then the one where he had met Scott and stood in the shadows waiting for someone to come out so that he could feed and then get on home. He knew that the sun rising was only a couple of hours away so he didn't have the time to be too picky about who he fed on tonight, just so long as it was an adult and not anybody under 25 or so.

When not quite an hour later one man and two women emerged from the back entrance of the club it was clear from the way they were dressed that the women were whores and the man was there pimp and Bryon thought that this must be his lucky day.

Bryon walked casually past the entrance to the alley where the back door was located pretending not to be paying any attention to his surroundings although all his senses were on high alert. Bryon looked around the immediate area casually making sure that he was alone other than the three he was about to kill that is and once he was sure that there were no heartbeats in the immediate vicinity of the other three he was on the two women and one man before they even know what was happening to them.

"Please spare me!" One of the women pleaded as Bryon knocked the other two unconscious as he had decided to feed on one of the women first. Not bothering to reply as Bryon knew that he didn't have time to play with his food, like he did sometimes, had his teeth attached to the woman's neck in seconds and had her drained dry in minutes. Once the woman was nothing but a corpse Bryon tossed the body aside casually and then picked up the other woman not bothering to wake her up like he normally would have and drained her as well.

While Bryon was mostly full at this point he knew that it was a good idea to overindulge every time he hunted in the near future so that he didn't hurt Scott by accident. If he hurt his mate even on accident he would never forgive himself so he would make sure to overindulge every time he hunted in the near future, just to mostly eliminate that possibility.

When Bryon was finished with his meal he calmly got rid of the evidence just like he always did and then headed back to his car that was still parked at the New Wave club so that he could get home and get ready for his first date.

~~~Bryon and Scott~~~

"Well look who finally shows up after having been gone almost all night," Bella gently teased her son as entered the house.

"I'm home before sunrise so why does it matter where I was?" Bryon asked just a little defensively.

Bella looked surprised at Bryon's tone and Bryon mentally kicked himself for being so defensive around his mother for no reason. He wasn't some teenager that had a curfew after all.

"Sorry, mom," Bryon apologized sincerely giving his mother a hug and a kiss on the cheek by way of apology.

"So where have you been?" asked Bella just a little curiously. "It isn't like you to be away from home for so long and then come in just before the sun rises."

"Well, I hunted, then I went to a club and danced for awhile before I realized how late it was getting and that I needed to get home as it is supposed to be sunny today," Bryon said by way of explanation. It was all true even if he left out the way he had met Scott and how they had talked for hours or that he had driven Scott back to his apartment and put him to bed. In fact his mother or his father for that matter did not even know that he was gay to begin with, although he was going to have to tell them soon.

Bella accepted the explanation silently, although she was sure there was more to it, but she also knew that she would not be able to get anything out of her son until he was damn good and ready to tell what he had really been doing. Besides as long as he was here and safe it didn't really matter anyway. He could have been fucking half a dozen young women as a way to relieve himself since he wasn't mated and then fed off them afterwards and she wouldn't care.

"Love you, mom," Bryon told Bella sincerely giving her another kiss on the cheek, "but now if you'll excuse me I have plans for as soon as it gets dark."

"And what are those plans?" asked Bella.

"I'm going to the movies, that's all," Bryon said not adding that he was going with anybody as he didn't want his mother to find out about Scott until he was ready to tell her and his father.

"It's your life, but don't you think you could spend a little time with me in your family before you go haring off to the city again?" asked Bella just a little plaintively and she really couldn't say that she had been seeing her son very often as he was usually traveling, out exploring the world. "I know that you're no longer a little boy and you don't need me questioning where you've been or what you been doing, but I miss seeing my son just like I miss all my other children when they're not around."

"I'll try to spend some more time around the house," Bryon promised realizing that his mother had missed him, but then again that really wasn't very surprising considering that it was clear that both his parents adored all their children. Ever since they had grown up and started getting out on their own him and all his siblings came by to visit with their parents quite often but that didn't mean that Bella didn't miss them when they weren't around even if she and Jasper got much more privacy now that all the children were grown to do what mates did.

Bryon mentally shuddered not wanting to think about the fact his parents still had sex and always would since as vampires they would never grow to old to do that. It was only natural, Bryon knew, but that didn't mean he wanted to think about the fact that his parents, who didn't look any older than him, still fucked like rabbits at every possible opportunity.

"That would be appreciated," Bella said giving her son another hug. "I know you are all grown up and everything, but like any real mother I'll always miss you when you're not here and out doing whatever it is you do."

"Just let me go get showered and changed and then maybe you and I can do something together," Bryon suggested.

"That sounds like a fine idea," Bella said happily and watched as her son disappeared upstairs in order to shower and change his clothes

~~~Bryon and Scott~~~

Bryon arrived at Scott's apartment house at precisely 7 o'clock to find Scott already waiting for him. Scott happily got in Bryon's car then they headed to the movies together.

"I was afraid that meeting you was a dream," Scott finally admitted after a moment speaking for the first time since he had gotten in the car. "I was after all very drunk, but then I found your note and I knew you were not just my imagination."

"You actually thought you had imagined me?" asked Bryon surprised, but then when he really thought about it he supposed it was possible to imagine things when you were very drunk, although he had no experience with that himself since he had never been human.

"I did, and I was frantic, because even if I met you when I was already a little drunk you were still the best thing to happen to me in a very long time. I feel this incredible connection too you and I hope that doesn't send you running in the other direction for after all we just met last night."

"No, your admission isn't going to send me running away from you, because I feel this incredible connection to you as well," Bryon admitted relieved that Scott also felt what he knew was the mate bond. "It's like we were meant to meet and that it's fate that we did."

"That's it exactly," Scott exclaimed relieved that Bryon felt the same way he did.

Both men fell silent as Bryon wove his car through the streets of New York heading to a very upscale movie theater as Scott only deserved the best and it wasn't like he didn't have a ton of money in any case.

Scott looked around the car's interior and then said, "This is a really nice car you have, buy it yourself?"

"I did, actually," Bryon admitted. "It's a Mercedes convertible and before you ask my family has always had plenty of money so me and my sister and my older brother have never had to worry about finding jobs in order to support ourselves."

"What are you doing dating someone like me if you have so much money? Shouldn't you be dating some kind of rich society heiress?" asked Scott.

"The thing is Scotty, that my family has never been part of that world no matter how much money we have," Bryon explained. And not for the reasons you believe, he added in his thoughts. "For one thing we couldn't put up with the air of conceit and arrogance some of the people who consider themselves old-fashioned aristocrats have and also we would never even consider marrying just to preserve of the bloodline as that leads to interbreeding. Besides my family feels that marrying just in order to preserve the bloodlines is stupid. If you want to marry you should marry for the right reasons like love and not just because you supposedly to come from a good family, which means absolutely nothing in this day and age. Human beings are human beings and there is no point of a cousin marrying a nephew or whatever, no matter how distant that relationship might be. Besides I never thought of women as anything but friends and they are definitely not marriage material at least in my view. Besides from what I know most arranged marriages are rather unhappy and if I ever do marry I would like to marry someone that is going to love me and make me happy for the rest of my time on this Earth and not just content with my lot in life."

"And I am your type?" asked Scott not daring to hope.

"Well, you are certainly more up my alley then any women I have ever known, no matter how gorgeous they may be," Bryon said taking one hand off the wheel and taking Scott's hand in his own, feeling the little pulses of electricity that shot over his and Scott's skin at his touch. "Personally I think you're very handsome."  
Scott blushed a little and then exclaimed, looking astounded at the little pulses of electricity he had felt dance along his skin. "Whoah! What was that?" Bryon, of course, had touched Scott's bare skin a few times last night and he had felt those little pulses of electricity but he supposed that Scott had been too drunk to notice at the time or maybe to remember.

"Haven't you ever heard the term sparks fly?" Bryon asked.

"Yes, so?" asked Scott looking confused.

"Well, sparks are flying and that means..." Bryon began.

"You mean, you believe we were meant to be?" asked Scott in astonishment. "Who believes in love at first sight anymore?"

"My brother and his wife for one," Bryon said. "They've often told me and my sister that the minute they laid a eyes on each other they knew they were in love. It was like being struck by lightning for both of them."

"But…but…but…love at first sight isn't real," Scott protested. "It takes time to fall in love, at least that's what I've always believed."

"Different people, believe different things," Bryon said with a shrug. "I suppose I get my romantic nature from my parents. I know for fact that they love each other deeply and that they also fell in love that at first sight."

This was technically true, Bryon thought, so he hadn't really lied he had just omitted the fact that his brother and his wife were really his parents and that they were vampires as he was positive that Scotty wasn't ready for that information.

"You mean they never yell and scream at each other and threaten to get a divorce?" asked Scott in genuine astonishment.

"Oh sure they argue sometimes," Bryon admitted with a shrug. "Even for a couple as very much in love as they are it is impossible not argue at least a little every once in awhile. They never had one of those knockdown, drag out fights though and they usually apologize within just a few hours and then work out their differences calmly, which doesn't happen very often." And least not anymore, Bryon added remembering a few fights when he had been young.

Scott stared at Bryon in astonishment. "They don't ever scream at the top of their lungs, loud enough for the neighbors to hear?"

"No not really," Bryon said. "I take it your parents had a lot of those top of their lungs kind of fights?"

"Yes, they did and I'm sure they still do, but I'm extremely glad I am no longer around to hear them as they kept the whole house awake more often then not," Scott said wondering why he was telling Bryon all this considering they had just met. The truth was that he was very attracted to Bryon, although he was unwilling to call it love yet considering that this was their very first date. He had a feeling though that he could fall in love with Bryon very easily if he allowed himself to.

Had Bryon been right? Could the sparks that flowed between them whenever they touched mean that they were meant for each other? Meant to spend the rest of their lives together? Bryon seemed to think so and at the moment Scott had no logical argument to dispute that claim. His only arguments were emotional and his head kept telling him that there was no way he could be in love as he had just met Bryon after all, but his heart said that yes he was falling in love and it didn't matter how fast it had happened just that he needed to it accept with open arms.

Scott truly felt as if he was at war with himself as his heart battled with his mind. Scott felt truly split between his heart, which was emotional and his mind which was logical. The two seemed intent on battling each other for supremacy.

"Hey, relax," Bryon said putting a hand on Scott's bare arm sparks immediately dancing along where their bare skin met. "There's no reason for you to be so tense, just because I'm sure we were meant to be together doesn't mean you don't have time to figure out what you're really feeling. With your background I'm not surprised that's it's going to take you awhile to figure out what you really are feeling. The way that you were raised was not exactly conducive to understanding real love, just the fake kind a lot of humans believe is the real thing, but is just a pale version of the real thing."

"You talk as if you're not even human or at least that you are decades older than me," Scott said looking a little confused.

"I didn't mean to sound like that," Bryon said cursing himself in his mind while he also reminded himself that he needed to be careful as Scott was very intelligent as he didn't need him getting suspicious to soon. "It's just that I've been around real, deep, abiding love my whole life," Bryon explained as calmly as possible. "Sure my parents have their arguments and so do my brother and his wife but they always make up and their bond is always deeper and stronger then before because they have a better understanding of how the other ticks. They never even talk about divorce because they truly, and deeply love each other and getting divorced over something that in the end would be very silly and stupid would kill both of them, quite literally and not metaphorically."

"Wow!" Scott exclaimed shaking his head in amazement. "It sounds as if your parents and your brother and his wife truly have something special, something that not many people ever discover."

"They sure have," Bryon agreed with a smile in Scott's direction that lit up his entire face. And so have I, you just don't know it yet, he added silently. "We'll have to shelve this discussion for now, we're here," Bryon added parking the car in the parking lot of the theater.

"It okay, you've given me a lot to think about anyway," Scott said as he got out of the car Bryon following making sure to lock his doors behind him, although normally he wouldn't have bothered, but he was sure Scott would think it was strange if he didn't as his car could be very easily stolen. He had enough money to buy a thousand cars if he so desired, but there was no point in making Scott suspicious this early in their relationship.

"So what movie are we seeing?" asked Scott surprised that he hadn't asked before now, but on the other hand he had been enjoying Bryon's company so much that it just happened hadn't occurred to him to even ask.

"We're going to see the new action flick," Bryon explained. "You know explosions, action, and very little romance."

"That sounds fine," Scott said relieved that it was something he would enjoy seeing.

"Good as I wasn't sure what kind of movie you'd like, so I'm glad I picked something that you'll truly enjoy and not just pretend to like for my sake."

"Hey, what red-blooded man doesn't like a good action flick?" asked Scott with a smirk.

"No, man or boy I know," Bryon said with a laugh, "which is why I chose it in the first place. Of course my sister and my brother's wife as well as my brother enjoy them to, so it isn't just the male of the species that like a good action movie filled with explosions."

"I bet you that your sister and sister-in-law also like those soft romantic movies to, don't they?" asked Scott.

"Yes, their women enough to really like all that sappy romance stuff as well," Bryon admitted, "but at least when we have a family movie night about once a week my brother and I don't have to sit through one of those sappy romance movies as they are nice enough to only watch that kind of thing when they are alone or in a group of other women. They compromise, you see and it works out well at least in my family."

"So they compromise and that makes for a more successful marriage then each being stubborn about having their own way," Scott said thinking that it made sense and wondering why his parents couldn't just compromise instead of each being to stubborn to do that. "My house sure would have been a lot quieter when I was growing up if my parents had learned to compromise just like your brother and his wife and your parents have," Scott said.

"Some people never learn how to compromise," Bryon said. "It is one of the many failings of the human race."

"Why is it you sometimes sounds as if you're a senior citizen?" asked Scott. "How old are you anyway?"

"21," Bryon answered.

"No way, you don't look more then 19, if that," Scott protested, studying Bryon's unlined face intently.

"Trust me I'm 21, it's just that looking youngish runs in my family," Bryon explained. "My father doesn't look his age either." Which was so true considering his father was 258 years old and he didn't look a day over 20, which was when he had been changed into a vampire and so it was the age he had been frozen at, forever.

"So what do you want?" asked Bryon changing the subject as soon as the two men had bought their tickets and were standing in line for the concession stand.

"No, I'll pay for our snacks, you already paid for the tickets after all," Scott protested. "This is my treat."

"I'll pay," said Bryon and his tone told Scott that he would not give in to any arguments. "I am the one that invited you to go to the movies and so it is I who will pay our way."

Scott gave in knowing that he wouldn't win on this occasion but he promised himself silently that the next time they went on a date he would pay for everything and he would not give in until Bryon agreed.

It was all about compromise after all.

~~~Bryon and Scott~~~

"Would you like to come up to my apartment?" asked Scott a little nervously.

It was a week later and the two of them had been out on several dates and spent every spare minute they could together. "I thought perhaps we could watch a movie or enjoy a nightcap or something."

"Sure," Bryon agreed eagerly as he was dying to get more than just a kiss on the lips which was all he had been doing for the last week for they hadn't been anywhere private enough for him to do more than that. Besides he was tired of cold showers as he had been taking quite a few of them lately.

He knew he would have to be careful though and not get so involved that he forgot to watch his strength every second so that he didn't hurt Scotty on accident.

Scott looked relieved at Bryon's enthusiastic answer and led him up the stairs and to the door of his apartment which Bryon had never been to before. Whenever they had a date Bryon always dropped Scotty off in front of his apartment building, but had only ever been inside once and that was on the night they had met when Bryon had put Scotty to bed.

"Welcome to my home," Scott said as he opened the door with a plain ordinary key as he couldn't afford to live in an apartment that had one of those newer electronic locks that made it harder for a thief to get past in order to rob him, not that he had much a burglar would want.

Bryon entered the apartment for the first time and looked around slowly taking in everything that Scott owned thinking that the apartment was rather sparse without much in the way of decoration, but then Scott probably couldn't afford to decorate much since he had only started his job at the bar in the last couple of years. Bryon was sure that all Scott's wages went to this apartment and the food that he ate plus probably a few clothes every now and then. Bryon was sure that if he and Scott had never met that in a few years once he has been working longer Scott would be able to decorate the apartment more to his tastes until it was gradually transformed into a real home. Bryon looked around around the room again and saw that there was a secondhand couch and a small TV with a video player in one part of the room. but really that was all. Also across the room from the couch was a bar that separated the living room from the small kitchen that was also part of the apartment and off the opposite way Bryon saw two doors off a short hallway. Bryon was sure that one led to the bathroom and the other to a bedroom.

"I know it's not much," Scott began nervously beginning to wonder if he should have invited Bryon up at all, "but I've only been working for a couple years and most of my paycheck goes to this apartment and to buy me food. A lot of my things I brought them home..."

"Hey, hey, it's okay I understand that you've only been working a little while but what you've done so far is absolutely amazing as far as I am concerned," Bryon soothed cutting off Scott's babbling even using his talent on him so that he wasn't so nervous.

Scott relaxed as he could tell Bryon meant it and then asked, "So what movie would you like to watch?"

"Anything is fine with me as I have a feeling we won't be seeing much of it," Bryon told Scott with a confident smirk, wrapping his arm around his boyfriend and kissing him so throughly that by the time Scott was released his knees were weak and his entire body felt completely boneless. "Just so you know I've been wanting do that for quite some time, but we have had nowhere near enough privacy for me to be able to until now."

"Well, you can certainly do that to me anytime you want," Scott said his voice still a bit breathless. "If you weren't holding me up right now I guarantee you I'd be nothing but a heap on the floor as I wouldn't be able to stand on my own as my legs feel like jelly and my entire body nothing but skin."

Bryon smirked in satisfaction at that, although if truth be told he felt the same way. "Well, shall we start that movie that we can pretend to watch?" asked Bryon and was more then satisfied to see Scott blush deeply.

"Sure, can I get you a drink before we begin?" Scott asked still blushing as well as radiating embarrassment and nervousness going over to where he kept his selections of movies most of which he had bought from home.

"No thank you, I have all that I need," Bryon said making it obvious of what he was talking about by kissing Scott throughly again.

A few minutes later once he had regained at least most of his equilibrium Scott selected a movie at random and inserted it into the player turning on the TV at the same time. Both men and then sat down on the couch Scott with the remote and started to watch the movie that was beginning to play, their arms around each other.

It didn't take very long at all for both young man to lose their interest in the movie as they were far more interested in each other.

Scott was the first to lean his head on Bryon shoulder that was very comfortable despite it being as hard as stone. Bryon, however, was a first to lean down and begin to place slow kisses all over Scott's face, before he finally found his boyfriend lips and took them for his very own his tongue demanding entrance to Scotty's mouth.

Scott had no problem granting Bryon's tongue entrance noticing not for the first time that like the rest of him his boyfriend's tongue was ice cold. Scott't thought's became incoherent as soon as his and Bryon's tongues began battling each other and he was actually surprised that he noticed anything at all as Bryon's kisses seemed to transport him into a temporary realm of total bliss, where nothing else mattered but him and Bryon.

Bryon finally broke off the kiss after several blissful minutes as he knew that Scott needed to breathe and by the time he did Scott was breathing heavily if only because that was what Bryon's kisses always did to him.

Bryon of course was also breathing rather heavily and that was because Scott's kisses affected him just just much as his did Scott.

"Why is it whenever I kiss you it feels so right?" Scott ask only partly rhetorically. "It's almost as if it we are meant to be together as I've never felt like that before whenever I kissed any other man."

Bryon wanted to tell Scott that he would never be kissing anyone else ever again but also knew that it was much too soon in their relationship to get demanding as he didn't want to scare Scott off. "It is the same for me as well," Bryon told Scott. "I have kissed plenty of men in my time and none of them feel so perfect, so right, so blissful. Nor did they have that effect on me that yours do."

Scott looked pleased at what Bryon was telling him and then asked, "I know you told me that your brother and sister-in-law really will accept me, but are you absolutely sure of that? I know that most people don't want anything to do with somebody when they discover they are gay."

"Those people are idiots," Bryon growled and Scott looked startled, although not afraid at the vehemence in Bryon's voice. "In any case," Bryon added his voice gentler as he saw how startled Scott was, "yes, I'm sure my brother and his wife will accept you as they have never believed that men or woman for that matter are diseased or that there is something wrong with them internally if they like the same sex, like a lot of people do."

Bryon wasn't as sure of that as he told Scott, but what he did know was that his parents would never try to break him and Scott up as mate bonds were sacred and the reason they were was because if one mate died the other always followed within hours or at most days.

"If you say so," Scott said accepting Bryon's reassurances although deep down he still had doubts about Bryon's brother and sister-in-law accepting his and Bryon's relationship.

"I do say so," Bryon said, "but there's no reason to worry about it right now so why don't we get back to what we were doing?"

"Gladly," Scott said and began kissing Bryon all over his face and moving down to his neck places little kisses all along the skin.

Bryon groaned and his cock stood at attention while the vampire part of him demanded that he take Scott and make him his, permanently

Not yet, Bryon told the monster within him silently. No matter how much I want to as Scott isn't ready yet. It won't be long though just a few short weeks.

Finally the monster grumbled but subsided for the moment.

Scott stopped what he was doing long enough to remove his shirt and then started to do the same to Bryon. "Here let me help you," Bryon said and began to unbutton his shirt so that it could be removed more easily. Once that was done Bryon pulled it off of his arms and dropped it to the floor not caring in the least where it landed. "Now shall we get back to what we were doing?"

"Yes!" Scott exclaimed eagerly and he immediately began to place little kisses and licks all along Bryon's skin which was completely white and just as cold as the rest of him.

Bryon groaned and started to do the same thing to Scott licking and nipping his way down his very well developed chest.

It was no more then a few minutes later that they both came simultaneously in their underwear and it took both several minutes to get their breathing back under control.

"Whoah! That was the strongest climax I have ever had and neither one of us actually penetrated the other with our cocks," Scott said sleepily.

Just wait until you are a vampire and then I will show you that this was nothing at all as by the time I am done with you, you will have trouble even walking, Bryon thought but didn't say as he gave Scott a kiss and then used his talent to put him to sleep.

He lay Scott fully out on the the couch so that he was as comfortable as possible, wrote him a quick note and then headed for home for he knew if he stayed any longer he was going to do something he was going to regret, but by then it would be to late.

Bryon had a lot of time to think on the way home and realized that there was no way in hell that he could ever lose Scott for that would mean his death as well no doubt about it. He and Scott had only been dating for a week and Bryon had realized just tonight with an earthshattering certainty that he loved Scotty with every ounce of feeling in his soul and had had a hard time resisting just biting Scotty and making him unbreakable like him so he could do what he really wanted to, but he had resisted for he sensed that Scott was not yet ready and definitely not as sure of his feeling for him as Bryon was of his. The time was getting closer where it would be time to reveal that he was not human, but a vampire and so was his entire family, but that time had not yet arrived. It would be soon though, it had to be for Bryon was not exactly sure how long he could control the beast within him from just taking Scott and making him his. He would rather Scott make the decision on his own to be changed, but would bite him whether or not he agreed on his own free will as there was no way in hell he could live without him. There was no point of worrying about all these decisions quite yet so for now he would put it all out of his mind entirely.

It wasn't long after Bryon came to his decision that he pulled into his spot in the garage of his parents house, cut the engine and headed inside.

~~~Bryon and Scott~~~

"Dad, mom, can I talk to you? Alone?" asked Bryon.

"Of course, honey," Bella said getting from where she was sitting in a chair watching TV. It was a month after Bryon had met Scott and Bryon felt it was time to reveal that he was gay to his parents, although he still wasn't sure what their reaction was going to be.

It was almost ten years to the day that Lindsey and Gerik had shown up at the Whitlocks door and in all that time Bella and Jasper had both noticed that Bryon unlike the rest of his siblings seemed almost isolated and very lonely no matter how many people surrounded him at the time, whenever he was around that is and not out traveling the world.

In fact Bryon could often be found all by himself, when he was home, just sitting somewhere seeming to be thinking about something and even when he was asked what was wrong he always brushed that person off.

Come to think of it though he had cheered up considerably in the last month or so and Bella now wondered why that was. She had a feeling of that she and Jasper were about to find out why Bryon had gone from lonely and isolated to more cheerful, although he had still seemed rather isolated, even if he didn't seem quite as lonely anymore.

"What's bothering you Bryon?" asked Jasper as soon as the three of them had reached his study and closed the door. "Whatever it is you know you can tell us. You should know that you can tell us anything and we will not judge you and try to help you solve whatever problem you are having."

"I know," Bryon said looking at his feet refusing to meet either of his parents eyes.

"What's been bothering you so much?" asked Bella. "You have been so isolated and lonely for 10 years now, whenever you are home that is and not traveling, although you have cheered up tremendously in the last three or four weeks you've still seemed rather isolated," said Bella. "Whatever happened to my always happy son? The one that could make a joke out of almost anything?"

"He's still here, mom," Bryon assured Bella still looking incredibly serious. "I've just been kind of trying to figure out how to tell you something for the last few years that's all."

"And what has prevented you from telling us about whatever has been bothering you?" asked Jasper looking concerned. "Bella's right that you have been looking unhappy for almost a decade now. Every time anybody tried asking what was wrong you brushed them all off, but I figured you would tell us when you were ready and it appears that that time has come."

"I'm sorry I've been so disagreeable over the last few years," Bryon said sheepishly wondering why he had worried about telling his parents that he was gay as he knew very well that they would accept it and not see anything wrong with him liking other men instead of women. The only reason he was telling them now actually was just in the last month he had met someone that he knew was his mate, but the problem was that this man was human and he needed some advice on how to proceed.

"Bryon, whatever you have to tell us there is no reason to feel ashamed or embarrassed," Jasper told his son coming around the desk and sitting on the edge.

Bryon took a deep unnecessary breath and then said still looking at his feet, "I'm gay."

Neither one of his parents said anything for a few minutes and then Bella asked getting up off the couch and coming over to put her arm around her sons shoulder, "Was that so hard to say?"

"Reasonably hard, yes," Bryon admitted finally looking up from the floor thinking he was extremely glad he had been right about his parents reactions to his announcement, "as I know very well how a lot of society views people who are gay."

"Bryon the way that human society views being gay is not the way that the vampire world sees it is totally different," Jasper told his son still sitting on the edge of the desk. "There's absolutely nothing wrong with being a homosexual whether human society accepts it or not, although humans are a lot better about that in this century then when I was born or even when Bella was born. One of the reasons the human race is so against it is the fact that back when we were born getting married and having children was almost a requirement if you wanted to be looked at as an adult and that was doubly true for women. Not to mention it goes against what the bible preaches. To a vampire though it doesn't really matter since normally we can't have children and in any case most humans conventions don't mean a damn thing to our race since we live outside of society and see humans as food."

"Why didn't you tell us before now?" asked Bella. "There was no reason to make yourself so miserable for the last decade you know. You should have come to us years ago, because you have been going from your usual happy self to miserable quite frequently in the last ten years."

"Well I wasn't sure how you would react when I told you," Bryon admitted looking down at his feet again. "That's one of the reasons I put it off for so long."

"How did you discover you were gay?" asked Bella avoiding the question she really wanted to ask for the moment.

"It was almost an accident really," Bryon admitted finally looking up from his feet. "It was about fifty years ago and I was in town to go to a movie and maybe hunt a little, when I came across these two men having sex in an alley. At first I thought that they were attacking each other, but then I realised that that was not the case. I was about to walk away, but I seemed to be riveted to the spot and I discovered that I was absolutely fascinated with how they were fucking each other. I knew that in all the decades I had been in this existence that I had never found women in the least bit attractive, or seen them as anything other than friends, but I had always figured that I just hadn't met the right woman yet and it never occurred to me that I might be gay, not until then anyway."

Jasper nodded and hopped off the edge of the desk to put an arm around his son's shoulder. "There is nothing wrong with liking other men instead of women, son and I'm glad you finally decided to tell us, but I believe Bella and I are going to have to have a little talk with the rest of our children individually since it is very likely that at least one or two of them feel the same way you do and just haven't said anything for fear of our reactions."

"Why do you think that any of the other's feel like I do?" asked Bryon in genuine surprise.

"Because I read somewhere that it is believed that at least one out of seven people are gay and that statistic is still true for vampires. Considering how many children Bella and I have produced it seems likely that at least one of them besides you like the same sex," Jasper explained.

"And even if they are all sure that they are not homosexual or at least bisexual it is entirely possible that when they find their mate they will be the same sex," Bella added as she came over to give her son a hug and a kiss on the cheek, which Bryon accepted with pleasure relieved that his parents still loved him.

"We will always love you, son, never doubt that," Jasper told him almost seeming to be able to read Bryon's thoughts although actually he was just reading his son's emotions and not the actual thoughts in his head.

"I'm happy you finally got up the courage to tell us," Bella added, "but just remember from now on that you can come to me or your father about anything and we will never judge you or think any less of you."

"I will," Bryon promised looking happier then he had in a very long time.

"So what has suddenly made you decide to tell us now?" asked Bella knowing there must be a reason and she suspected she knew what that reason was, but she wanted to have it confirmed.

"I met someone," Bryon finally admitted finally looking into both his parents eyes. "I'm positive we are mates but Scotty's human and I have no idea how to proceed."

"So this man's name is Scotty?" asked Jasper.

"Well, Scott actually, but he goes by Scotty," Bryon answered.  
"What's this man's last name?" asked Bella, curiously.

"Blackwood," Bryon answered immediately. "It's Scott Nathaniel Blackwood."

"When did you meet him?" asked Jasper next.

"About a month ago," Bryon answered.

"How did you meet him?" asked Bella.

"Well there's this club downtown that I sometimes go to for a meal," Bryon explained. "It was almost an accident really as he was sitting at the bar having a drink and I had just come in the door. Our eyes met and the rest as they say is history."

"You were pulled to him, correct?" asked Jasper already knowing the answer as he could feel his son's emotions.

"Like a moth to a flame or a magpie to something shiny," Bryon confirmed. "It is very difficult to be away from him even for a few days. In fact every time we touch sparks of electricity dance along wherever our bare skin is touching."

"Does he know of your interest?" asked Jasper looking pleased at Bryon's description of what happened when they touched for the sparks definitely proved that they were indeed mates.

"Yes, we've been getting to know each other although I haven't told him what I am as I figured it would be better if I did that here. We've been meeting at the club where we first met and occasionally we go to a movie. We've been dating exclusively for the last three weeks and we've done quite a few of things together. Scotty is a bartender at a bar uptown and we've met there a few times to, through we don't get to spend much time together since he has to work."

"So what does he know about you?" asked Bella.

"Almost everything except for the fact that I'm a vampire that drinks human blood in order to survive or anything related to that."

"Isn't he in the least curious as to why you never seem to eat or drink anything?" asked Jasper.

"Yes, he is as I can feel how curious he is." Bryon unlike his other brothers and most of his sisters had gotten his father's empathic talent, although some of his siblings had gotten other special talents as well.

"And he hasn't pried?" asked Bella in astonishment.

"No he says he is willing to wait for me to tell him what it is I am concealing, because he trusts me. I know he is drawn to me too although to a lesser degree then I am, which is probably also why he is willing to wait."

"Yes, I agree. Have you had sex yet?" added Jasper, seriously.

Bryon would have blushed if he could have for normally he was a very private individual when it came to his love life, but on the other hand he really needed some advice.

"No," Bryon admitted squirming suddenly uncomfortable. "We've both wanted to and we have done some things, but we haven't gone all the way."

"That's good, because it is very likely that you would hurt him with your strength, especially if you have never had sex with a human before," Jasper said his approval clear.

Bryon didn't bother to tell his father that he had had sex with plenty of humans in the past just to relieve his pent up sexual tension. It had never meant a damn thing though, so he had never bothered to experiment to see if he could fuck a human without either killing them or at least injuring them severely. He now wished he had though so he and Scotty could really have sex and not just makeout heavily like they had been doing, but how could he have known that he was going to meet his mate and he would be human?

"I knew that so no matter how much I want to go farther I asked him to wait until we know each other better before we make love for the first time. He was surprised by my request as most people have sex on the first date, but was willing to go along with it for awhile anyway."

"I think it is time that you bring him home to meet the family," Bella said and Jasper nodded in agreement.

"Also I think it would be best if most of your siblings were elsewhere until your Scott is aware of what we are since you all look basically the same age," said Jasper.

"Not to mention how would we explain the fact that Jasper and I have so many children when neither one of us look over thirty?" Bella added.  
"As to that I think it best that you tell them that I am your older brother and don't tell him that you are mine and Bella's son," Jasper suggested. "We look enough alike that it should be believable and you can explain the real relationship once he knows what we are."

"I'm way ahead of you dad," Bryon told his parents. "I've already explained to him that I was living with my older brother and his wife along with my twin sister Melodie. Since Melodie and I look so much alike I felt it was better to not deny the relationship since I knew they would meet at some point. I didn't mention any of the other family figuring we could explain about them later once he was in on the secret."

"Good," Jasper said giving his son a pat on the shoulder in approval causing Bryon to stand up a little straighter as his father's approval meant a lot to him.

"So what does this Scott look like?" asked Bella with a raised eyebrow just a little curious as to who her son had fallen so hard for.

"Well he looks around the age I appear to be," Bryon began, "except he's 23 where I don't look anymore then 20 or 21. I told him I was 21, although from his emotions he had a hard time believing that because I look so young. His hair is as black as a raven's wing, long and shaggy, sticking up in the back. He's often told me more then once that no matter what he does to it, it still looks all wild as he refuses to use hair gels and says that it's to much trouble to wash out. Personally I think he leaves it like that on purpose just to drive both men and woman wild as it certainly makes me want to run my hands through it almost all the time and it is very hard to resist doing that. He has eyes of a gray so light that in certain lights they look almost silver and is about 6'1', tall and slender, but with fairly broad shoulders, very trim waist and long legs. He also has a very thick Scottish accent and sometimes people have trouble understanding him, but I never have and I'm not sure if that's just because my vampire hearing picks up the sounds better or because I've traveled some in Scotland and know how they sound."

"It's probably a little of both," Jasper said. "Vampires do have much better hearing then a human, but if you hadn't been to Scotland and stayed for awhile so you know how they form their words when they talk you would probably still have had a little trouble understanding him when you first met."

"Also he is very intelligent and tends to put things together quickly," Bryon added.

"We're looking forward to meeting him, so make sure you bring him by sometime in the next couple of days," said Bella. "Just make sure you call first, so the others won't be present, except for Melodie when he gets here."

"Most of them are traveling right now anyway, except for my sister, Trev, Merry, Chloe, and Gav," said Bryon.

"And the house has seemed kind of empty with only the six of you coming and going, even though I know I can't expect all of my children to stick around all the time," said Bella.

"I would think you and dad would appreciate the privacy," Bryon snickered.

"Watch it you," Bella playfully scolded her son wriggling a finger at him.

Jasper and Bryon laughed and after a moment so did Bella. "Yes, your father and I do appreciate the privacy," said Bella shooting her husband a seductive look, "but we also like spending time with all our children, especially since we never thought we could have a family."

"I would think you would eventually get tired of one of us interrupting you," Bryon teased.

"Never," Bella protested. "We love all of you to much to ever be angry at any of you. Well at least not for very long," Bella quickly amended since it was impossible to not be angry at one of her children at least sometimes.

"So when do you think you'll be able to bring Scott by?" asked Jasper.

"Sometime in the next week or two," Bryon said glad that this conversation was over for it had been very embarrassing and hard to reveal to his parents that he was gay even though it had gone well. "I'll set it up and let you know."

"Very well then," Jasper said clapping his son on the shoulder again, "but if that is all Bella and I need to go have a talk with each of our children that is home."

"We really can't wait to meet Scott and welcome him to the family," Bella told her so giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"Just one more thing, son," Jasper said before Bryon could leave his study.

"What's that dad?" Bryon asked, curiously as well as a little nervously for he had a feeling he knew what was coming.

"When you do bring him by to meet us are you going to go ahead and tell him that you're a vampire and that your whole family are vampires? Or are you going to wait awhile?" asked Jasper.

"I don't know, dad," Bryon asked looking incredibly nervous. "I'm afraid of how he will react to the news. What if he doesn't want anything to do with me?"

"You can't put off telling him for to long. If he is in any way as intelligent as you believe him to be then he will figure it out and he will either run or will be so mad at you for not telling him that will cause problems that you could have avoided," said Bella looking sympathetic. "Yes, telling your Scott that you are a vampire is scary and that you drink human blood is even scarier, but you know very well that it has to be done."

"Also you know the laws as well is we do and once he finds out he doesn't have a choice but to be changed," Jasper reminded his son. "Well, that or die and since I know what him dying would do to you he will have to be changed whether that is what he wants or not."

"I meant to ask you, does Scott have any family that will be worried if he disappears?" asked Bella. "You know, brothers or sisters parents cousins, nieces or nephews, really anybody that he is close to that will care if he just ups and vanishes?"

"That is a good question, love," Jasper approved causing Bella to smile at the approval in Jasper's voice.

"He does have parents and at least a couple of brothers and sisters," Bryon replied, "We don't need to worry about any of them though."

"Why?" asked Bella curiously.

"Because not only do they live in Scotland, his parents disowned him when they discovered that he was gay and none of his siblings or other family dare communicate with him in any way for fear of being cast out as well. Apparently Scotty's parents are very uptight and couldn't stand to have a son that didn't like women and wouldn't eventually get married and have offspring of his own. In fact Scotty told me that they had actually arranged a marriage for him and when he refused to wed the girl they had chosen it was strike three. They consider that their son liking other men to be worse then having cancer."

"They actually disowned him?" asked Balla in astonishment and Bryon nodded in confirmation even though he didn't need to. "To me that says they did not love him at all or they never would have even thought about disowning him. You don't disown your own son just because he's a little different and can't give you any grandchildren and who actually believes in arranged marriages nowadays? This isn't the 16th and 17th century this is the 22nd, where you should be able to marry whoever you choose or not if that is your choice."

"You might think like that, but a lot of the human race doesn't share your opinion," Bryon told his mother with a half smile. "To a lot of people being gay is worse than being a murderer on death row. As for the arranged marriage Scotty told me that his parents more then likely would have disowned him anyway just for refusing to go along with the contract. In this day and age you do have to have the couples consent for an arranged marriage to be legal."

"I know that, but peoples attitudes have never made any sense to me. I would think that being a murderer would be 100 times worse then liking someone of the same gender, since a murder kills others due to some kind of sick fantasy going on in their minds and in my opinion arranged marriages are right out of the dark ages and should be completely abolished and made illegal."

"You have to look at violence from a human's perspective," Jasper told his wife and son. "Violence is part of a human's nature and has been happening for as long as humans have existed so it is easier to accept a murderer or mugger or when someone turns out bad like that, but being gay is considered an abomination, although it is more accepted today."

"That's true," Bella said. "Most states even allow gay marriages now."

Bryon lit up at that for he would love to be married to Scotty although he knew that was at least a year maybe two or even more in the future.

"I see you like that idea," Jasper said somewhat dryly but with a smile.

"You have no idea," Bryon said, "or maybe you do. I would love to be married to Scotty, although I know that is years in the future."

"It will more than likely be sooner than you think," Jasper told his son. "If he is already being affected by the bond and he is still human then that means that the bond is already strong and I believe he will accept that you are not human at all and will agree to be turned. That he is estranged from his family just makes it easier as that means he will not be missed if he suddenly disappears."

"Oh, he's affected all right," Bryon said with a satisfied smirk. "He can barely keep his hands off me and I'm the same way. I knew immediately we were mates when I looked into his eyes and it was confirmed when I touched him and our bare skin touching caused those sparks I told you about. Scotty has said on more than one occasion that he misses me like crazy whenever we're not together and I feel exactly the same way and we've only been together for a month. Just thinking about him right now is driving me crazy and if our feelings for each other are this strong after only a few weeks how strong will they be once he is turned?"

"Very strong, which bodes well for your lives together," Jasper said pleased. "Some mates have very strong bonds others have weaker ones, it really just depends how compatible your personalities are and if you share a lot of the same interests. Your mother and I for example share a very strong bond, because we share a lot of the same interests and have very compatible personalities, but I have met vampire mates in the past that had weaker bonds, because their personalities are not quite as compatible."

"But they are still mates?" asked Bryon astonished.

"Yes, they are," Jasper confirmed.

"I had no idea that there could be different intensities in a mate bond," Bryon said fascinated.

"Oh yes," said Jasper. "Bonds also deepen and don't fully mature for at least ten years sometimes longer and until then it is very difficult to be very far from your mate. Once the bond matures you can do things separately, but you will still feel separation anxiety, that you will learn to ignore. Bella's and my bond didn't fully finalize for over 15 years."

"So do you think I should tell him when I bring him by sometime in the next week?"

"That's up to you, but in my opinion the sooner you tell him the better off your relationship you will be. Scotland has plenty of legends about vampires and Scott probably doesn't believe that vampires are real, but that will not stop him from figuring out that you share some of the same attributes, the cold skin, the way you move with liquid grace, your white skin that looks as if it never has been touched by the sun, the way you are so inhumanely handsome without a single blemish, just to name a few differences between us and humans."

"And from there it is only a short step to figuring out that you are not completely human," Bella added knowing where Jasper was going with his speech.

"Scott may not immediately guess what you are, but if he is at all intelligent it won't take him long to figure it out, maybe only a matter of days or possibly only a few hours."

"He's very intelligent as I believe I already mentioned," Bryon said with the goofiest grin that either of his parents had ever seen on his face and made both of them struggle not to laugh.

"Well, there you go," said Jasper in a strained voice as if his point had just been made for him, which Bryon supposed it had.

"All right then, I'll tell him when he comes and visits," said Bryon looking a little apprehensive, which he had every right to be for there was a chance that Scott wouldn't accept that Bryon and his family were different and would reject him out of hand. Even if he did reject Bryon and his family however there was no way they could just let him leave and would be forced to change him without his consent, which none of them wanted to happen, but they wouldn't have any choice since no human could have the knowledge that vampires were real and there were only two options if that happened and in this case killing Scott was not really an option at all.

"It will be all be okay, son. Things will work out," Bella assured him giving him a hug.

"I hope you're right, mom, because we all know what dad will be forced to do if he does reject me and that is change him against his will as there's no way in hell I'll let him die."

"Nor will we let him die," Jasper said his voice suddenly stern and commanding, "as that would mean your death as well and there's no way in hell I'm going to let one of my sons kill themselves."

"And I agree, but let's think positive," Bella said. "The positive aspect of this is it is very unlikely that Scott will reject you Bryon and even if he does after the change he is very unlikely to remember ever being angry at you in the first place and the mate bond should make him so attracted to you that he will not be able to resist being around you even if he does remember."

Bryon cheered up at that and said, "I'll go set up a date now and I know I'll not have any trouble doing that because a boyfriend or girlfriend meeting the parents kind of suggests that you want the relationship to be permanent and not just temporary."

"That it does," Bella said as she and Jasper watched their son head out of the study in order to make that call.

"Let's hope it goes well," said Jasper. "I just want Bryon to be happy and I haven't seen him this happy in a decade."

"Have a little faith," Bella told him getting up off the couch and sitting back down on Jasper's lap, wrapping her arms around him and kissing him directly on the lips.

Jasper didn't have a chance to respond as his mouth was quite busy kissing his mate back and it was quite some time later that they finally broke their lips apart.

"Well, I suppose the both of us should act like responsible parents and go talk to our children that aren't traveling the world and ask them if they are gay or at least bisexual and then assure then that we still love them no matter what their sexual orientation and that it truly doesn't matter to us."

"At least we won't have to talk to Trey and Brianna, since they have been mated for a decade," said Bella.

"But that still leaves us eighteen to go and since most of them aren't here it is going to take awhile to talk to all of them since it isn't exactly something that should be discussed over the phone."

"We have the time and it isn't like we'll forget to have that discussion with whichever one of our children is passing through, since as vampires we never forget anything."

"Well let's go have a word individually with the few that are home," Jasper said striding towards the door, Bella following. "You take the girls, I'll do the boys and we can meet back in my study afterwards and tell each other what we discovered."

"Alright, let's get going," said Bella as both she and Jasper headed off to talk to their children.

~~~Bryon and Scott~~~

Jasper, Bella and Melodie were waiting in the entrance hall when when the front door of the house opened and Scott entered first followed by Bryon, who shut the door gently behind him.

Scott looked and felt incredibly nervous, which Jasper could hardly blame him for. It was a week later and Saturday as well, and since Scotty had the weekend, as well as Monday off from his job Bryon had felt it was a good time to introduce him to his parents, even though Jasper and Bella were going to be his brother and his wife at least at first.

"Scotty these are my brother and his wife Jasper and Bella Whitlock and my twin sister Melodie," Bryon introduced. "Jasper, Bella, Mel this is Scott, my boyfriend."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Scott," Jasper said shaking Scott's outstretched hand. "I wish I could tell you that we knew all about you, but Bryon's been keeping you to himself until recently."

Jasper's tone was light, joking and immediately put Scott at least somewhat at ease, which had been Jasper's intent.

Bryon shot his father a grateful look when Scott couldn't see him and Jasper nodded very slightly in response.

Scott opened his mouth to ask the rather obvious question, but Bella spoke before he could. "No we don't care that Bryon is gay. It truly doesn't matter to us."

"It doesn't matter to me either, just so long as Bryon is happy and the way he is almost glowing right now tells me that he is and that is all that matters," said Melodie. "It is a pleasure to meet you Scott."

Scott relaxed completely at Melodie's words and very demonstrative hug.

"It's nice to meet you Mr. and Mrs. Whitlock, Melodie," said Scott finally seeming to remember the manners that had been drummed into him as a child.

"Please, it's just Bella and Jasper," Bella said with a disarming smile. "My husband and I aren't very big on formality as we are just really casual people."

"If that is what you want," Scott agreed a little tentatively.

"That is what we want," Jasper said and Scott nodded still looking a little uncomfortable.

"Why don't we head to the den and you can tell us all about yourself and how you and Bryon met."

"Didn't Bryon tell you?" asked Scott in surprise.

"Yes, but we wanted to hear the story from your perspective," Bella said.

"Oh, all right," said Scott sitting down on the loveseat Bryon sitting beside him, taking his hand in his and giving it a reassuring squeeze.

"Before we get started though, can I offer you something to drink? It's no trouble. We have sweet tea, milk, juice, or soda."

"Thank you and tea will be fine if you're sure it's no trouble."

"No trouble at all," Bella assured him getting up from were she was sitting on the couch beside Jasper and headed into the kitchen at a human pace.

Less than five minutes later Bella returned and it wouldn't have taken her that long except she didn't want to return immediately because a human wouldn't have.

Bella set the tray on the coffee table and passed Scott his glass of sweet tea and handed Jasper a glass of juice, Melodie and Bryon glasses of soda, before sitting down and picking up her own glass of milk.

All the Whitlocks knew the routine and pretended to take sips of their drinks and then placing them on the coffee table on the coasters that Bella handed them.

"So, tell us about yourself, Scott," Bella began as she carefully set down her glass on the coaster in front of her.

"Well, I'm sure Bryon told you that we have been exclusively dating for about three weeks."

"He did, but we would all like to hear how the two of you met from your perspective. Bryon mentioned that you met at a club downtown, but not the name of the club or any details."

Bryon looked like he wanted to blush as he remembered the night that he had met Scott, but couldn't since he wasn't human and then a second later Scott blushed as well.

Bella thought it was adorable how it was clear that Bryon would have blushed if he could have and how Scott did blush, but kept her thoughts to herself for the moment as she wanted to hear the full story of how her son and Scott had met and not just the few details that Bryon had seen fit to give her.

"Bryon and I met at a club downtown called the New Wave," Scott explained his accent quite thick though it was quite clear he was talking a little more slowly so he would be easier to understand, which everybody appreciated, although it wasn't necessary.

"I have been living in New York since I was eighteen. I'm sure Bryon told you that my parents disowned me when I refused to sign a marriage contract that had been negotiated with another Scottish family that had a daughter of marriageable age."

"He did," Jasper said, calmly, "and both me and my wife are in agreement that arranged marriages should have been made illegal in this day and age. I can understand arranged marriages centuries ago—and no I don't agree with the practice even then as the heart wants, what the heart wants—when it was important to produce as many children as possible since so many of them died of various diseases, but in this century it is just silly since the human race is at least three times larger then it was just a hundred years ago."

"In other words no one can choose who they fall in love with and from what I've read a lot of arranged marriages were based on the exchange of goods and not necessarily cash. Love didn't enter into it very often, which wouldn't have made for a very happy marriage in most cases," Bella added.

"So your marriage...?" began Scott tentatively.

"No, our marriage was because we loved each other not because our families wanted us to wed." Jasper said looking over at Bella with such profound love in his eyes that it almost brought Scott to tears as he had never seen such a deep, abiding and ever-lasting love in anyone's eyes in all his time on this Earth and he highly doubted he would be lucky enough to see such a special and rare thing again. If only his parents had loved each other as much as the older Whitlocks obviously loved each other then perhaps they never would have thrown him out, but then a terrible thought came into Scott's consciousness and that was: What if events hadn't happened exactly as they had would he have ever met Bryon? Bryon meant everything to him and even the thought of never meeting the man he loved deeply sent a shiver of profound fear through his body. If events hadn't happened exactly as they had, if his parents hadn't thrown him out when he was just 18, if he hadn't been at the New Wave that night he had a very strong premonition that he and Bryon never would have crossed paths at all.

"In fact both sets of our parents were dead by the time we met," Jasper continued jerking Scott out of his rather morbid thoughts, which he was grateful for. "Neither one of us believe in arranged marriages and we would never force Bryon or Melodie to get married to people that they had never met or had only met once or twice. Love is not something that can be forced and to get married for any other reason is not right. Why make yourself miserable, by marrying someone you can't stand or barely know?"

"Thank you for telling me that as you have relieved my mind," Scott said sincerely, "but we kind of went off track."

"You're welcome," Bella said with a smile that just lit up her face making Scott instantly want to smile back.

Scott continued with his tale by saying, "I was sitting at the bar and had been there for about an hour when Bryon walked in. I wasn't really paying attention to who was coming or going actually as I was trying to drown my sorrows by getting stone cold drunk as I had just broken up with somebody I had been dating for months, and I just happened to look back wondering who had just walked in as a lot of the females that had been chattering quite close to where I was sitting had suddenly stopped as if they had been stunned into silence. When I did turn around to see who had just walked in my gaze was immediately drawn to him like a lodestone is to a magnet as he stood near the door as if he was just observing the whole of the club. I thought he was the most handsome man I had ever seen and as he walked away from the door and deeper into the club I immediately revised that opinion to absolutely breathtakingly gorgeous and what astonished me was that he didn't seem aware of how handsome he was. I observed him as he came towards the bar and chose the stool right next to mine and I really did try to ignore him because I was thinking that there was no way that this gorgeous man was interested in anything but women. I felt at that moment that I never had a chance and that there was no way he was gay and I was cursing the fates for putting him in my path, because I figured it wouldn't be more than a few minutes before he was out on the dance floor dancing with some woman.

"The women of course gathered around his stool like vultures after the dead and tried to get his attention by offering to buy him a drink which annoyed me no end. I had just about decided to leave so I didn't have to be a witness to the mob scene that was bound to occur when Bryon chose one of them to dance with and it shocked me so deeply when he very politely told them that he wasn't interested and to leave him alone that I very nearly fell off my stool."

Bella, Jasper and Melodie chuckled at this for they could just imagine the scene that Scott was describing.

"Most of the women disappeared at his very polite refusal, but a few still hung around trying to get him to change his mind. Finally Bryon got annoyed and I distinctly saw him roll his eyes as he told the remaining girls rudely to get lost that he wasn't interested and that he hadn't come to the club just to pick up a date. He then turned to me very calmly and politely asked me if I wanted to dance. I was so shocked that it took me a couple of seconds to respond and it didn't help that I was halfway drunk at that point. The girls remaining were absolutely flabbergasted and I heard them began to mutter that it was a shame that such a gorgeous man was gay."

"So did you dance with him?" asked Melodie looking eager to hear the rest of the story.

"What do you think?" asked Scott cheekily with a chuckle. "There was no way in hell I was going to turn down such an invitation from such a handsome gentleman, when I had just been fantasizing about him."

"If I was gay I certainly wouldn't have," Jasper said by way of agreement.

"Exactly," Scott agreed with a smile.

"So what happened after that?" asked Bella sounding just as eager as her daughter, to hear the rest of the story.

"Well we danced, for quite a long time actually, talking as we danced getting to know a little bit more about each other like our names for example. It must've been at least a couple of hours later that my feet really begin to throb and I told Bryon that I needed to sit down down for a bit and I thought that that would be the end of any contact between us, but as you know I was very wrong about that. Bryon politely thanked me for helping him out of the jam with the women and then asked me if he could join me at my table and I immediately said yes, very eagerly I might add."

Everybody chuckled at that as Scott continued, "I boldly asked him if he was really gay or if he was just using me to get away from the mob of women and he told me that yes he was straight gay and not bisexual as woman didn't hold any interest for him except as friends. He also said that he had been aware of the fact that he liked other men for several years and had dated some, but not a lot. He then told me that he had noticed me the second he had walked in and he had been working up the courage to ask me if I wanted to dance when all those women had begun pestering him. He told me then that he had felt drawn to me for some reason and that he had wanted to get to know me and perhaps ask me out for a date if I was agreeable. We sat at that table talking until the club closed at 4 AM and it was the best night I can remember having in a very long time and I knew then that I wanted to see Bryon again so when he asked me to go on a date with him the next evening I immediately agreed, without hesitating. We've been together ever since that night and I hope we always will be," Scott finished the telling his tale.

"We will always be together," Bryon assured Scott giving the hand he was holding a squeeze. "I have no intention of ever letting you go, so you had better get used the idea."

"I won't object to that I assure you," Scott said returning the squeeze noticing, not the first time that Bryon's hand was ice cold and that little sparks danced along the skin from the contact. Scott had not precisely gotten used to the way sparks flew whenever they touched, but he had accepted that it was just part of his relationship with Bryon.

Bella and Jasper exchanged looks that was all but indecipherable to anybody, but them and Bella gently gave Jasper's hand a squeeze to let him know that his message had been received.

"Before we get into a discussion about making our relationship permanent there are some things, family secrets if you will, that we need to reveal to you," Bryon told him.

"You want to make our relationship permanent?" asked Scott trying to keep the hope out of his voice. "As in marriage, permanent?"

"Yes, as in marriage," Bryon said quite calmly looking straight into Scott's eyes so he could see his sincerity in his oddly colored blue eyes, for the blue almost looked artificial the only reason that Scott hadn't run screaming the minute he had met Bryon in the proper light was because Bryon had remembered to put in his contacts, before meeting Scott for that first date and that was only thanks to his father's reminder.

"So what kind of family secrets are you talking about?" asked Scott after he had given Bryon a kiss for saying that he wanted to make their relationship permanent and be together forever

"First let me ask you a question," Bryon began looking a little nervous although he tried not to show it, "What unusual traits have noticed about me?"

Scott immediately looked puzzled, but then really thought about it and realized that he had catalogued several strange things about Bryon almost unconsciously, putting the things he had noticed on the back burner to mule over subconsciously. The thing was that Bryon was always ice cold and come to think of it Bryon never seemed to eat either or drink for that matter, which was really very strange. Also whenever things begin to get heated between them and they were on the verge of fucking each other senseless Bryon always pulled back before they could go to far, although it was clear from Bryon's expression and body language that he didn't want to, but that he was worried about something, like hurting him perhaps? Which was silly.

"So what have you noticed that is strange about me?" asked Bryon.

"Well this is kind of silly," Scott admitted, "but your skin no matter where we are is always ice cold, but I just figured you had poor circulation, although that doesn't usually mean your whole body, just certain parts like your hands or feet."

"And? What else?" asked Bryon.

"Well, you never seem to eat or drink anything or at least you haven't whenever we are together," Scott said looking at the other four people in the room to see if they thought he was being silly or delusional, but everybody's expression were encouraging so he continued. "Also I've never seen anyone move as gracefully as you do until I met the rest of your family that is. It is almost like liquid in motion and also that your muscles don't work quite the same way mine or anybody else's do. You don't walk, you glide and the way you move seems to scream predator."

"Anything else?" asked Bryon.

Scott thought about it very seriously because from Bryon's expression it was important that he figure something out on his own with only minimum help.

"Well, your skin is harder, then a normal human's," Scott said looking at everybody in the room to see if he was imagining things and when they all nodded at him to continue he said, "Whenever we kiss I've noticed that your skin seems almost stone hard, and completely white without the touch of the sun that characterizes a human's, but again I figured it was some kind of medical condition."

"And what do all these little clues that you have noticed about me tell you?" Bryon asked Scott.

Scott thought about it and then blurted out, "That you aren't completely human?"

"And if I'm not human, then what am I?" asked Bryon his expression intent.

Scott didn't reply for several minutes and none of the vampires in the room said anything just watched Scott calmly, although in Bryon's case also a tad nervously as he tried to figure out what the Whitlocks were getting at that they couldn't or wouldn't just outright say.

Finally after what seemed like forever but was really only about five minutes all the weird things that he had noticed about Bryon came together in his head and he nearly had a panic attack. No it couldn't be, could it? Scott asked himself. The Whitlocks couldn't be a family of vampires, could they? And if that was the case why in the hell were they telling him? Why hadn't they just killed him, drained his blood and been done with it? No, there had to be another explanation, there just had to be. Vampires weren't real, they were just stuff made up by some storyteller a long time ago, right? Vampires were not based on facts were they? The Whitlocks would think he was extremely silly and stupid if he did happen the blurt out what he was thinking he just knew it. But what other explanation was there that fit the facts?

"I can tell by your expression and body language that you have come to some kind of conclusion, so would you care to share it with the rest of us?" asked Bryon not mentioning that he also felt Scott's emotions of panic, which meant that he probably had come to the right answer, but didn't want to admit it for fear of being seen as silly or stupid.

"What I'm thinking is just silly," Scott said trying very hard not to blurt out what he had concluded.

"And what were you thinking?" asked Melodie speaking for the first time since the conversation had started.

Scott looked at the intent expression on everybody's faces and it seemed like almost against his will he blurted out what he had been thinking, "Vampires."

Scott look at Jasper, then Bella, then Melodie and finally Bryon expecting to be told that he was imagining things and then for all of them to laugh at him but when none of reactions he was expecting occurred he started to panic. Was he really sitting with four vampires? And if they really were vampires why hadn't they just drained his blood and buried his corpse by now? Finally Scott's brain overload from all the high emotion he had been experiencing and his own panic and he fainted.

Since he was unconscious Scott was unaware of the fact that Bryon had caught him before his body could hit the floor.

~~~Jasper and Bella~~~

Scott began to regain consciousness only a few minutes later only to hear the buzzing of voices just above him that gradually started to form themselves into words.

"Is he alright?" asked Melodie and the concern in her a voice made Scott blink in confusion. Why was Melodie so concerned about him?

"He's fine, he just fainted," Bella assured everyone. "I'm not really surprised actually as he was bound to be panicking when he finally figured out what we are and his brain probably just overloaded and couldn't handle all the emotions he was feeling."

"You're sure he just fainted mom?" asked Bryon and the panic in his tone caused Scott to want to reassure him.

"Yes, I'm sure," Bella told her son her tone also concerned. "The human brain isn't really equipped to deal with such strong emotion and when it has had more than it could handle it just automatically shuts down. He'll be just fine and should wake up shortly."

"Your mother is right, your mate will be just fine," Jasper voice said the tone soothing. "I do know something about human nature and Bella is right when she says that the human body is only equipped to handle so much emotion before it automatically shuts down."

One fact was crystal clear in his still muddled brain and that was that Bryon had never harmed him and he had had plenty of opportunities over the last month to kill him and be done with it, so there must be another reason why he had been told the family's secret and it certainly had to be the biggest secret out there, Scott thought still pretending to be unconscious although he was waking up rapidly and his head which had been feeling as if it was stuffed with cotton was clearing. What had Jasper meant when he said that his son's mate would be alright? Could Bryon really want the relationship to be a permanent one? Scott thought back to the seriousness of Bryon's expression and how Bryon had looked him directly in the eye when he told him he would like to make the relationship a permanent one and immediately concluded that Bryon had been being truthful and also deadly serious, so if that was the case that meant none of Bryon's family had any intention of killing him.

You didn't try to get to know someone or spend massive amounts of times in their company if you were just going to kill them, so he had to conclude that they had no intention of causing him harm.

"Shouldn't we put some smelling salts or something underneath his nose in order to wake him up?" asked Melodie.

"I don't think that's going to be necessary," Jasper told his daughter his tone amused. "I believe he's beginning to wake up."

Scott took that is his cue to begin to groan and pretend to force his eyes open even though he had been awake for at least the last 10 minutes listening to the conversation.

Scott opened his eyes all the way and blinked rapidly several times as if groggy and Jasper shot him an amused look that let him know that he had been aware that Scott was awake, but he didn't say anything.

"Scotty? You okay?" asked Bryon his concern very real as he came to sit on the end of the couch where Scott had been placed after he had blacked out, unable to get as close as he would have liked since Scott's form took up most of the couch.

"I'm fine," Scott assured Bryon sitting up and as soon as he did Bryon moved from where he was sitting to as close as he could get and that meant there wasn't even half an inch of space between their thighs. "I'm actually surprised that I don't have a headache or at least a bump on the back of my head from hitting it on the floor."

"That's probably because I caught you before you could hit the floor," Bryon admitted looking a little sheepish. "Our kind can move very fast when we have to."

"So I was right? You are vampires?"

"You were right," Bryon told him and took Scott's hand in his secretly delighted that Scott didn't pull away from him as Bryon had feared he might once he learned what he and his family were.

"And you just couldn't have told me that without make me put the clues together myself?" asked Scott.

"Yes, we could have told you," Jasper said speaking for the first time, "but all of us knew that you were more likely to believe it right away if you figured it out for yourself. If you had not put the clues together on your own then yes Bryon would have told you with us waiting in the wings as backup if it was needed."

"Why exactly did you tell me in the first place?" asked Scott wanting to confirm in his own mind that what he had heard while he was pretending to be unconscious was accurate. Besides he would like to have an explanation for what the word mate actually meant, because it if it meant what he thought it did... "Or maybe a better question is why didn't you just kill me and been done with it?"

Scott instantly regretted his words as he saw Bryon heart-wrenching pained look. "I'm sorry, truly sorry, for my words, Bryon," Scott apologized, "but you have to admit that it is a question that needs to be asked and once you answer it we won't have that particular elephant in the middle of the room interfering with our relationship."

"Scott's right, Bryon, and you would know that if you were thinking logically instead of emotionally. The sooner you clear up certain questions the sooner you can get your relationship back on track," Jasper told his son sympathetically.

Bryon nodded to his father still looking pained, but then he turned until he was facing Scott and explained why he hadn't just made a meal off him.

"What do you know about soulmates?" asked Bryon totally and completely seriously.

Scott thought it was an odd question but gave it some serious thought before replying. "Nothing really," Scott said. "Just what I've read in novels and I'm sure that's not the most accurate thing to go by."

"It's a start," Bryon admitted, "but only that. I'm going to tell you what finding a mate means in the world of vampires."

Scott didn't notice when the other three vampires in the room got up to leave for other parts of the house as they didn't you need to be present for this part of the conversation as it was something private between Bryon and his mate.

"You see Scott in the world in which I am a part of finding your mate is like finding the other half of your soul. When a vampire finds their other half, the half that completes them whether or not he or she is human the connection between them is instantaneous. It is a monumental struggle not to claim your mate immediately, and what that means is turning them into one of my kind if they are human so that they can always be together."

Scott gulped a little feeling self-conscious and then asked as calmly as possible, "So you wanted to turn me into a vampire as soon as you saw me?"

"Yes," Bryon admitted without an ounce of shame. "The minute I looked into your eyes was the second I knew you were the one that was meant for me. The one that completes me. The one that I've been looking for that will make me happy for the rest of my existence."

"Can I ask you a question?" asked Scott just a little apprehensively.

"Of course ask me anything you want and I will answer it as best I can," Bryon assured him giving the hand he was holding a gentle squeeze of reassurance. "You don't ever have to be afraid of asking me a question, but for that's the way we learn things. I will never harm you or get annoyed with you no matter how many questions you ask for mates cannot harm each other and even if they could I would never even thing of harming you as the mere idea of anyone laying even one unwanted finger on you is abhorrent to me. I'm still the same Bryon that you've been dating for the last month as I haven't suddenly changed into a stranger just because you are now aware of the secret that I've been keeping from you."

Scott absorbed that silently and then asked the question that had been running around his brain ever since he had woken up from blacking out.

"Is this mate bond you keep talking about the reason that we haven't had sex yet, beyond a little heavy petting?"

Bryon nodded and then added, "That's certainly a big part of the reason why we haven't made love yet no matter how much I've wanted to. It has been very hard to resist just claiming you even without your consent, but if we Whitlocks are one thing it is stubborn to the core, which I get from both sides of my family."

"What's the other part of the reason that we haven't made love yet?" asked Scott.

"My strength," Bryon answered immediately. "Vampires are super strong and if I had forgotten for even an instant that fact while in the heat of passion I could have done you major damage and possibly even killed you by accident. I wasn't about to take that risk with you when you mean so much to me. Besides I've never made love with a human before, well at least not one that wasn't severely injured or died afterwards, even before I drained their blood. I have been warned constantly about the dangers of being intimate with humans and I know that those warnings were given for a reason as I will always remember how much damage I caused to those humans that I used to relieve myself of my sexual tension. That was before I met you though and I was not about to experiment in controlling my strength since I knew the kind of damage I could do to you if I wasn't extremely careful every second. I didn't give a damn if those humans died or not since I was going to drain them anyway after I had relieved myself, but I do care about you and it could literally kill me if I hurt or killed you while we were making love."

"Vampires are really that strong?" asked Scott.

"Oh, yes," Bryon assured him. "If you wanted a demonstration we could go outside and I would show you. Our kind can crush rocks into powder without any trouble. We must control our strength every second, so that we don't harm some poor human by accident and only if we mean to."

"You've never hurt me," Scott protested.

"No because controlling our strength becomes instinctive after awhile, but that doesn't include while in the heat of passion, or when we are extremely angry," Bryon explained.

"What about what the legends and movies say about you turning into bats or that you sleep in coffins or that you can be killed with a wooden stake through the heart?" asked Scott.

"None of it is true," Bryon said. "For one thing we can't be permanently killed by a mere piece of wood if only because there is no way that it would penetrate our stone hard skin. There is a way to kill us, but we can get into that later. No, we do not sleep in coffins because we do not sleep at all."

"You don't need to sleep at all?" asked Scott astonished.

"It's not a matter of needing, but of not being able to," Bryon said, unconsciously rubbing his thumb along the inside of Scott's hand in a soothing gesture.

"And the turning into bats that is so often portrayed in the movies?"

"Nope," Bryon said shaking his head his lips twitching in amusement.

"Run faster than a car? Aging? Seeing and hearing so much better then a human's?"

"Yes, yes, yes and yes," Bryon responded

"Red eyes?"

"Yes," Bryon answered.

"But your eyes are blue," Scott protested.

"Colored contacts, which all of us use when it isn't appropriate to wear sunglasses. I can take them out now if you want and you can see what my eyes really look like."

"Yes, I want to see what your eyes really look like and not this artificial blue which I always thought looked fake."

"Well, you were right," Bryon said immediately taking out his oddly colored contacts and holding them in his palm. When he looked up Scott saw that Bryon eyes were a dark red.

Scott stared into Bryon's eyes as if hypnotised and he moved his free hand to unconsciously stroke Bryon's cold cheek.

Bryon immediately leaned his face into the caress and his tense muscles relaxed just little.

"It doesn't matter to me what you are," Scott finally said. "I've felt drawn to you from the second I laid eyes on you. I felt that you were my destiny that had come calling as corny as that sounds."

"It might be corny, but it's also true," Bryon said relaxing a little more, even daring to return Scott's gesture of a few moments ago raising his hand in order to caress the warm smooth skin of his mate's cheek.

Scott responded to the caress the same way that Bryon had by leaning his face towards Bryon's hand.

"So where do we go from here?" asked Scott finally after quite a few minutes of silence.

"Well, that that kind of depends on you," Bryon said.

"What do you mean?" asked Scott just a little nervously.

"It's nothing bad," Bryon assured him, "or at least I don't think so."

"Then explain," Scott suggested as calmly as possible.

"Alright," Bryon agreed. Bryon was silent for a few moments seeming to be gathering his thoughts. "When I said that I wanted to make our relationship permanent I wasn't just blowing smoke out of my ears, I was and am absolutely serious about that."

"I already figured that out," Scott said as Bryon paused. "I know that you never would've told me what you and your family are if you weren't totally serious about how you feel about me."

"That's true, but it's more than that," said Bryon.

"In what way?" asked Scott.

Bryon explained as best he could without telling Scott that if he were to die then he would as well as Bryon didn't think that Scott needed to know that or at least right now. It was that Bryon wanted to keep the information from him, but he felt that his mate had enough to worry about at the moment and didn't need anymore.

Scott tried to keep his expression bland as he listened to Bryon's explanation and thought about the fact that he was almost sure that Bryon meant to turn him into a vampire for that way they would always be together. Would Bryon and his family turn him into a vampire against his will? Probably if he didn't agree to be changed on his own free will. Scott couldn't really blame them if that was the case as he was sure that Jasper and Bella would not want their son unhappy for the rest of his existence when he did die of old age and if he were to remain human the would happen in seventy or eighty years.

Wait son? Where had that thought come from? Bryon and his sister were not Jasper's and Bella's son and daughter were they? Scott thought about it and suddenly several things that had confused him clicked into place in his mind. The way that Bryon seemed to defer to Jasper and Bella, which implied that they were older or maybe that they were the ones in charge, which didn't necessarily mean that Jasper and Bella were Bryon and Melodie's parents. Also as much as Bryon and Melodie looked like Jasper with his blond hair, high cheekbones, and the shape of the eyes, they also looked a great deal like Bella as well, especially in the nose, mouth and hands, which had short fingers. Also despite their height, which was tall, like Jasper, Bryon and Melodie's bodies looked more like Bella's or at least they did from what he could tell without seeing them naked, which he had no desire to do. Well scratch that he had every desire to see Bryon naked, just not Melodie.

Putting aside the issue of how two vampire's had had children in the first place for the moment he asked instead, "You want to turn me into a vampire don't you?"

"Yes," Bryon admitted after a moment his voice quiet. "Actually now that you that vampire's actually exist it's more of a requirement."

"What do you mean requirement?" asked Scott confused.

"Well, we have certain laws and one of them is that no human can know that our kind exists and so there are only two choices given if a human somehow finds out about us whether it is revealed deliberately or accidentally."

"Either the human is changed into vampire or they are killed?" Scott guessed.

"Exactly right," Bryon confirmed with a nod. "We have three rulers that live in Italy called the Volturi and they are the ones that enforce our laws. If they discovered that the law has been broken it would not only mean death for you, but for me and my entire family. In any case even if the Volturi weren't a threat to my family there is no way in hell that I could just let you die, whether of old age or not."

"Because of the mate bond?" asked Scott.

"That's part of it certainly, but also over the last month that we have been seeing each other I've grown to love you and I know I would even if there was no bond between us. The bond just removes the...uncertainty, that usually comes with any relationship."

Scott thought about that and then nodded for he had had several relationships in the past that he had believed he was in love with the guy he was dating and it had turned out later that it had been nothing but infatuation or puppy love.

"I love you to and have for sometime," Scott admitted finally smiling at Bryon.

Bryon relaxed completely at Scott's words. "You sure are accepting this pretty easily, your blacking out aside."

Scott shrugged his shoulders then took both of Bryon's hands in his marveling at how gentle they had always been whenever they made out and yet if Bryon was to be believed the strength in his hands was enough to crush rocks and probably human bones to powder without much effect.

"What can I say except that I know you and you have never hurt me in anyway," said Scott. "If you had wanted to hurt me you've had a hundred different opportunities to do so since we met. You know somebody said actions speak louder then words and your actions tell me that you would never deliberately hurt me. Now if I had been dragged into your world without us getting to know each other first it would be a whole different story. You know me Bryon, and you know I am a man that thinks things through before reacting and I've had plenty of time to think about what my feelings for you are. You being a vampire doesn't change of damn thing about how I feel about you, except that I'm glad you finally told me."

Bryon couldn't help himself as he leaned over and kissed Scott passionately, without reservation because his mate's words meant so much to him.

"Does that mean that you accept being turned into a vampire, so we never have to be apart?"

"Even if I didn't agree you would change me into one anyway," Scott pointed out.

"True, but I'd rather have your agreement then be forced to change you against your will," Bryon said.

"What's the transformation like?" asked Scott not giving any kind of answer.

"Painful or at least that's what I've been told," Bryon said.

"You don't remember your own transformation?" asked Scott in surprise.

"I never actually went through the traditional transformation," Bryon admitted looking down at his hands.

"So you really are Jasper's and Bella's son and not Jasper's brother like you originally told me," Scott blurted out.

Bryon looked up from his hands in surprise, but before he could respond, Scott said, "Oh come on you look a lot like Jasper that's true, but you look enough like Bella to be her son as well. The only thing I can't figure out though is how a couple of vampires can have children."

"All of that will be explained in time," said Jasper reentering the den at that moment. "I am glad you have accepted Bryon's bond with you so easily. Bella and I feared that we would be forced to change you against your will in order not to lose our son. Bryon you need to get Scott something to eat as I'm sure he is starving. You have to remember that Scott is still human and humans need to be fed at regular increments."

"Now that you mention it..." Scott said his stomach suddenly growling letting him know that he was indeed very, very hungry. Scott looked at his watch and blinked at what time it was. "I had no idea it was so late."

Jasper shot his son a look that said without words that he thought that Bryon was making a mistake in not telling Scott that if anything happened to him that Bryon would die as well, just as soon as Scott was not looking in direction. Bryon also shot his father a look that said what's the point of putting even more pressure on him then there already is?

Scott looked up just then so that ended the silent conversation between father and son for the moment anyway.

"Yes, you and Bryon have been talking for quite some time," Jasper said, patting Scott gently on the shoulder in a gesture of affection, which surprised Scott no end.

"Yes, we need to get you something to eat," said Bryon. "I'm afraid I lost track of time and had no idea it was after eight o'clock. You missed lunch thanks to all the talking we've been doing and dad's right that I need to remember you need to eat at regular times."

"My stomach certainly agrees with you on its need of sustenance," Scott grinned. "I don't need anything complicated though, just a couple of quarter pound cheeseburgers with everything on them will do, along with a large fry and strawberry milkshake would fit the bill nicely."

"I'll take you out for a nice dinner as pretty soon you will not be able to eat at all," Bryon decided.

"You don't have to do that," Scott protested.

"Consider it a date, one where you know the answer to at least most of your questions that have been brewing in your mind for the last few weeks," Bryon cut off Scott's protests.

"Oh I still have plenty of questions, although you have answered a few of the major ones I had," Scott said giving in with good grace.

"And you'll have a chance to ask them at some point," Bryon promised.

"If you are going to take Scott some place nice you need to dress the part," Melodie said coming into the den.

"It isn't going to be that nice since it is way to late to even think about getting a reservation," Bryon protested as he was more of the causal dress kind of guy.

Melodie rolled her eyes at her brother and argued, "Don't you want to look nice for your mate?"

"Hey there's no point of dressing up on my account as all my nice clothes are back at my apartment and I don't own anything really, super nice in any case."

"You can borrow from Gavin as you are about his size. He won't mind," Jasper suggested. "The pants will be a little long on you, but should fit otherwise."

"I can roll up the pants legs," Scott said not asking the obvious question that was burning in his mind as he knew now was not the time.

"Gavin has some really nice clothes as he has always been a bit of a dandy and is something of a clotheshorse," Melodie said approvingly who was something of a clotheshorse herself.

"And where he or you for that matter gets it from I don't have a clue," Bryon muttered.

Jasper and Scott coughed at that hiding their laughter while Melodie just glared at her twin. "Sometimes I wonder brother, dear, how we can be related at all."

"Sometimes I wonder the same thing, sis," Bryon shot back with a smirk not at all upset at Melodie's comment.

Melodie just rolled her eyes again at her brother and then escorted Scott upstairs and to Gavin's room so he could choose something to wear.

~~~Bryon and Scott~~~

"So you also have a brother, Gavin?" asked Scott as Bryon drove the two of them into the city.

"Yes, and Gav isn't mine and Melodie's only sibling. In fact there are twenty-one of us, altogether."

"Twenty-one, vampire children," Scott asked almost choking on the words.

"Hey, hey, calm down," Bryon soothed taking one hand off the wheel long enough to run it up and down Scott's bare arm, which caused Scott to shiver with desire and for his cock to stand at attention, but of course Bryon had always had that affect on him right from the moment they had met. "We weren't all born at the same time you know. In fact my mother was pregnant four separate times."

"Only four?" asked Scott flabbergasted.

"Only four," Bryon confirmed. "You see it happened like this..." and so Bryon began to tell Scott the story of the shrine of Artemis and how his parents had gotten the ability to have children. "The first time mom got pregnant thanks to the amulet was an experiment as since no vampire had ever had a child they weren't exactly sure what any vampire's babies would be like. They would have destroyed my brothers that were born before I was if they had turned out to be uncontrollable since they couldn't afford to have the human race finding out that vampires were real. If they'd had to do that it would have destroyed them though and none of the ones that came after would have been born."

"So which one of there children are you and from what pregnancy?"

"Melodie and I were born first in mom's second pregnancy which she had to spend the whole last month in bed for, because she was so enormous that she and dad didn't want to risk our lives in any way. They weren't sure you see if we could die as babies and so neither of them wanted to take any chances."

"So who's older you or..." Scott began to ask.

"Melodie," Bryon answered before Scott could even finish his sentence.

"And how many brothers and sisters shared your mother's womb along with you and your sister?" asked Scott.

"There were eight of us all together, for that second pregnancy," Bryon answered.

"And did all your siblings live?" asked Scott.

"Yes, and all are perfectly healthy without any of the things that can be wrong with a human multiple birth pregnancy. You know disease, undeveloped lungs, dying within hours, or days because the babies are so small and underweight, that type of thing," Bryon answered.

"And how long did it take before you were fully an adult?" asked Scott.

"A year," Bryon answered. "Physically we were adults after a year, but in many ways we were still children as we didn't have any life experience and our parents just couldn't allow us out on our own until we had learned how to control our bloodlust when out among the humans."

"Your bloodlust?" asked Scott wondering if it meant the same think that he heard that some warriors doing a battle suffered.

"You know where you attack the first person you see no many how many people see what you're doing. Our parents had to teach us control, and had make sure we could maintain it when we were off on our own before we were allowed to go anywhere without supervision, so really it was anywhere from two to three years before were were allowed to go into town alone."  
"So how old are you, anyway?" asked Scott  
"Well, let's see how was born in 1955 so about 160 years old," Bryon said after thinking about it for a minute.

Scott nearly choked at that, Bryon was like seven times his age.

"Hey, hey, calm down," Bryon soon as he continued to run a hand up and down Scott's arm. "My age doesn't really mean anything at all."

"What do you mean?" asked Scott. "Your like seven times my age, I must seem like a baby to you."  
"Not true," Bryon said. "I might be a 160 or so but that doesn't mean a damn thing I promise you. To my kind age doesn't mean anything. We are creatures of instinct and the mating bond is part of that. The mating bond never would have formed between us if we weren't compatible personalitywise."

"But… But… But…" Scott began seeming unable to finish his thought.

"Tell me something Scott, what age do I look to you?" asked Bryon.

"No more than 18 or 19, actually," Scott admitted. "That was why I was surprised when you told me you were 21 when we first met."

"So tell me something Scott, do you think I look too old to you for us to be dating?"

"Well no," Scott admitted finally seeing the purpose of Bryon's question. "In fact a lot of other men will probably be envious that I have such a handsome younger man at my beck and call."

"There you see, that is exactly what I mean, age doesn't mean a damn thing to the vampire race," Bryon said. "My father was much older then my mother when they met as Bella was human at the time and so had aged normally. Besides physically we don't look that much apart in age, really no more than three or four years so nobody will question why we are together since that amount of time is nothing. 160 is just a number nothing more."

"I'll try not to let your age a bother me," Scott said finally.

"When you are a vampire you'll realize that the years can pass by very fast as time means absolutely nothing to our race. 10 years or even 50 will pass by in the blink of an eye and you'll eventually wonder where the time went," Bryon said.

Scott blinked at that. "I have a hard time imagining that," Scott admitted. "Of course I also can't imagine not aging from the time I am changed either so that is probably why it is hard to think of 10 years or even 100 passing by in what seems like no time at all."

"Yes, most humans do seem to have trouble with that particular concept and it more than likely has to do with the fact that their lives are so short. Really humans only live up to 150 or so years in this century before they die." Bryon said.

"So why don't you tell me the names of your siblings in chronological order," Scott suggested. "Alright," Bryon agreed. "You'll meet all of them eventually but most of them are out traveling the world and the few that are visiting our parents for awhile were told to stay out of the house until asked to come back in order to not overwhelm you with to many vampires all at once as I know very well that even one or two vampires can be very intimidating."

"Like stepping into a den filled with vipers," Scott suggested with just an edge of humor lacing his voice.

"That's a good comparison," Bryon agreed calmly grabbing Scott's hand in his and raising it to his lips giving his knuckles several very light kisses.

Scott blushed at the gesture of affection from Bryon and he had no idea what he did as he wasn't one to blush easily and yet Bryon could literally turn him into a puddle of goo in just a few seconds. Bryon kissing his knuckles like that was such a sweet, uncomplicated gesture that silently spoke of Bryon's love for him that it made Scott go all soft inside and realize that despite their age differences he loved Bryon with his whole heart and soul and knew that Bryon felt the same.

"I love you," Scott told him his voice chocked full of very complicated emotions. Bryon looked away from the road and glanced at him.

"Why the sudden declaration of love?" asked Bryon. "Not that I'm complaining mind you as I love you to, it just seemed to come out of the blue that's all."

"It was way you kissed my knuckles," Scott finally admitted blushing just a little. "It was such a sweet, romantic gesture that it made me realize our age differences doesn't really mean anything and that I love you so much that I don't know what I would do if I lost you."

"You won't ever lose me," Bryon promised, his voice suddenly husky with his many swirling emotions. "I love you, and if there is one thing that we Whitlocks are besides stubborn that is, it is very possessive of what we consider ours and you are mine and no one else's." Bryon's voice became a deep menacing growl by the end, but for some reason Scott wasn't scared of it at all as he somehow instinctively knew that Bryon would never hurt him.

"Shh, calm down, Bryon," Scott said running a hand soothingly along Bryon's arm, even removing his seatbelt leaning over and giving the nape of Bryon's neck a gentle kiss, while running one hand through his blond hair at the same time. "You have me as I swear I'm not going anywhere and from this moment on I am yours for eternity."

Bryon nearly wrecked the car at Scott's words but managed to regain control in time. "You mean it? You want to be with me forever? You'll let me turn you into a vampire, voluntarily?"

"Yes, yes and yes," Scott said seriously answering all three of Bryon's questions. "If you love me even half as much as I do you I have no idea how you have resisted taking me and making me yours for so long as I am having trouble controlling myself from just attacking you right here."

A deep, primal growl rumbled out of Bryon's chest and he quickly pulled over to the side of the road, turned off the car engine, undid his seatbelt and pulled Scott onto his lap giving him a very deep, searing kiss that caused Scott's heart to start to beat in triple time.

"A human's feelings are nothing compared to a vampire's as our species is just better equipped to handle stronger emotion," Bryon said as soon as he had broken the kiss so that Scott could breath. "So in other words what I feel for you is at least twice, maybe even three or four times what you can feel for me until after you are changed."

Scott blinked as he tried to imagine Bryon's feelings for him being three or four times more powerful as his own which was nearly impossible.

"Why don't I show you," Bryon suggested when he felt Scott's emotions of incomprehension.

"How are you going to do that?" asked Scott.

Bryon didn't respond and just sent Scott all his feelings of love, lust and need of him with his talent.

Scott sat there silent as the feelings Bryon sent him coursed through him so strongly that his heart beat faster. He was actually surprised that with his heart beating so frantically that it wasn't winging it's way out of his chest.

"Whoah!" Scott exclaimed finally blinking rapidly as if to clear his vision.

"You okay?" asked Bryon sounding worried as Scott sat as still as a statue totally silent for more than 10 minutes after he had been sent his feelings and if it wasn't for Scott's frantically beating heart Bryon would've been more worried then he was already.

"What was that? Or maybe a better question would be how did you send me your feelings like that?"

"Well," Bryon began lowering his head and Scott could tell that he would be blushing if he had been capable of it. "Some vampires have an extra talent, something that was the strongest trait as a human, but since me and my siblings were never human some of us just inherited our parents talents. My father is empathic, he can feel others emotions and them send out or change others emotions as well."

"And you inherited your father's talent?" asked Scott even though it wasn't really a question.

"Yes and so did one of my sisters as well," Bryon said.

"Whoah! So that is how you really feel about me?" asked Scott feeling as though his whole world had been turned upside down in the last 10 minutes.

"Yes, that is how I really feel and I didn't even send my feelings for you at full strength as I was afraid that would stop your heart if I did and I definitely don't want you dead as I love you to much."

Scott nearly choked at Bryon's words. Bryon felt even more for him then the feelings he had sent? The emotions that had knocked him insensible for ten minutes? It was almost impossible for Scott to imagine Bryon's feelings for him being any stronger and yet Bryon had said they were and Scott had no reason to doubt him since as far he knew Bryon had never outright lied to him. Withheld information until they had gotten to know each other, yes, but lied no.

"I know it's hard to imagine, but true nonetheless," Bryon commented as he restarted the car and continued driving into town. "Just wait until you are a vampire and I send you what I feel for you for the first time and what I just made you feel while you were still human will pale in comparison."

"When are you going to change me?" asked Scott feeling just a little apprehensive.

"That's up to you," Bryon told him. "We could do it tomorrow or we could wait a month or two. In any case I'm almost positive that my parents are going to want to move to a new location before we start transforming you into a vampire because it is better to go where nobody knows you just in case."

"Wise precaution," admitted Scott after a moment of thinking about it. "I'll just have disappeared off the face of the Earth not that anybody will really care as I'll be with the only man who truly loves me."

"Actually that's not really true," Bryon said squeezing Scott's hand. "My mother already loves you and is beginning to consider you another son if only because you have made me so happy, but that will change once she really gets to know you and my father had already grown fond of you as well and is also beginning to think of you as one of his children. Melodie is also already halfway in love with you, but will not make any moves in your direction, because the bond between mates is sacred. Besides my sister would never try to steal somebody I was seeing."

"So your sister hasn't found a mate yet?" asked Scott.

"No and in fact only my brother Trey and my sister Brianna have."

"Is that why your parents were so accepting when you told them you were gay? Since your mate is male and you already said that mate bonds are sacred."

"That's part of it, certainly, but only a very small part," Bryon said. "My parents truly don't care if all of their children are gay or only half are. One of the reasons the human population is so against gay people is because of the if you can't have children, what good are you mentality. Back thousands of years ago children were the way that the Earth became populated and some of that way of thinking still remains even today. Also part of it is that the bible is also against homosexuality. In the vampire world though things are different as normally a vampire cannot have children and so it doesn't really matter if a vampire does find their mate if they are the same gender as you are. It doesn't even matter if you are male with a male mate even if you thought before than that you were straight because when you find your mate your whole attitude changes and your whole life become centered around that person. The whole concept of course applies to the females as well."

"All right, that's enough for right now as I think you are going to blow out my brain if you give me any other information tonight," Scott protested only halfway teasing. "Give me a few days to absorb what you have told me, before you try to tell me anything else as I am after all only human with a human's brain capacity and understanding."

"Just wait until you are a vampire and you will discover that instead of using just 5 or 10% of your brain's capacity you will be a will start using 100%."

"Your brain expands that much once you are changed?" asked Scott in genuine surprise.

"Oh yes, and so you will go from being intelligent man you already are to even more intelligent. You memory will go from faulty to being eidetic," Bryon said just a little teasingly.

"Hey! My memory is not faulty," Scott protested laughingly not in the least offended.

"No, but humans start to forget things as they get older while a vampire memory is much stronger and we never forget anything. We remember every happy moment, every moment we were lonely, and every moment of making love. For example the minute I met you will be etched in my memory forever and I will never forget a single detail."

"I'll never forget either as the night I met you changed my life."

"You might actually," Bryon said looking upset at the prospect.

"What do you mean?" asked Scott confused.

"When a human is transformed into a vampire human memories start to fade and eventually you will remember very little about your former human life, or that is what my mom and dad say anyway. Of course every human is also different and some remember more than others."  
"Then I am going to do my best to remember every single moment of how we met and all of our time together," Scott swore vehemently. "The rest of my past doesn't matter to me so long as I remember you and me and how we met as well as every single moment of the time we spent together afterwards."  
"I hope you can," Bryon said looking touched by Scott's vow.  
"How long does the transformation take?" asked Scott changing the subject.  
"Three days," Bryon said. "I have no intention of leaving your side at all doing that time. I plan on talking to you and soothing your pain as much as I can with my gift, just as my father did for my mother when she was going through her own transformation."

Scott thought of the three days of pain that he was going to undergo in the very near future and wasn't looking forward to it and if the truth be known it scared him shitless. On the other hand though he was looking forward to spending centuries with Bryon so he would just have to think positively as he knew that was the only way to go. Besides the pain would only last for a very short time and then he would be nearly impossible to injure physically at least.

"Not to deliberately change the subject, but here we are," said Bryon as he pulled up in front of the restaurant.

"Good, because I am starving," said Scott.

"Yes, I can hear your stomach demanding to be fed," Bryon teased.

Scott just stuck out his mate and didn't respond.

~~~Bryon and Scott~~~

"So what would you like to do, before your change?" asked Bryon.

It was several days later and Scott and Bryon had spent every single second that Scot wasn't eating or sleeping together

"What do you mean?" asked Scott with a raised eyebrow.

"I mean are there any sites in New York that you would like to see, go to Radio City Music Hall for example and see a performance, see a play on Broadway, go climb to the top of the Empire State building, or go see Times Square all lit up at night," Bryon said by way of explanation. "There is a lot to see and do in New York and we might as well enjoy our time together before you are changed as we just don't need to hang around the house."

"Why not wait to do all that stuff until after I am am changed?" asked Scott curiously. "There's a good chance I won't remember doing any of it after I am a vampire so why not wait?"

"Well, for one thing I would like to get out of this house as even a vampire can start feeling confined and for another I would like to be alone with you," Bryon admitted finally lowering his head embarrassed.

"Hey, hey, there's no reason to be embarrassed," Scott said placing his finger under Bryon's chin forcing him to raise his head to look him in the eyes. Sometimes, Scott reflected Bryon seemed younger then he was, while at others he seemed as old as the hills. Come to think of it, it was only in their relationship that Bryon seemed unsure, almost like a teenager in his first serious relationship, which was really the case if you thought about it. Bryon had never really dated before and Scott knew why, but that meant that Bryon was sometimes feeling his way down the often twisty and convoluted path that relationships were often made up of. He was like a blind man groping in the dark and eventually, Scott knew that Bryon would get it all figured out, but until then Scott was going to have to guide their relationship as he had been in plenty of them in the last few years and therefore had plenty of experience. Sure Bryon had plenty of experience with sex, but not with actual lovemaking and Scott intended to teach him that sex was more then just fucking someone in order to relieve yourself, but also how it was possible to make slow and gentle love until both partners were sated and satisfied.

"I would like to spend some time alone with you to because as large as this house is it is beginning to feel a little confining and unlike you it isn't as if I can spend a lot of time outside considering how cold it is since it is the middle of winter."

"Which is too bad as I would love to show you some of my favorite spots that will either have to wait until after you are changed or until the winter is over," Bryon admitted a little sheepishly. "I thought New York seemed like the best option as we will be inside most of the time. Besides sometimes a change of scenery is good."

"Sounds good," Scott admitted after a moment. "I would love to see a show at Radio City Music Hall as it has been around for a very long time and is also a historical site. All the things you suggested we do sound good, although it's a good thing that I can borrow clothes from your brother Gavin since it is very cold out there and we will be outside at least some walking from the car to a building if nothing else."

"Just wait until you're a vampire and then the cold will no longer effect you, although we'll still have to dress the part whenever we're out amongst the humans," Bryon said.

Bryon was actually glad it was the middle of winter, because in New York that meant that the sun was not out from amongst the clouds very often and he could get out in the daytime. Even if it did get sunny all he would have to do was pull up the hood of his jacket and make sure he wore gloves and that way he wouldn't sparkle if the sun did happen to emerge from behind the clouds. Bryon had yet to tell Scott about the fact that as vampires they would sparkle in the sun, which is why they tried to move the places that were cloudy or rainy more often than not, as he was unsure of how Scott would react although he knew that sooner or later the secret would come out eventually.

"As long as we're going into town I might as well take you to a nice restaurant for lunch and dinner," Bryon said. "You do need to eat after all."

"Oh no you don't need to take me someplace fancy," Scott protested.

"I would think you would be getting tired of burgers and sandwiches," Bryon said, "as that's all you've been eating for the last few days. Besides pretty soon you won't be able to eat any of the food that this world has to offer as vampires live off blood, so you might as well enjoy it while you can. Us vampires can't digest human food and if we do have to eat in order to keep up appearances it tastes like shit and we have to cough it up later, so you might as well enjoy your last few meals before you can't eat anymore."

Scott sighed giving in as Bryon was right and he was getting tired of just burgers and sandwiches and he could really use a few good meals so that he wasn't hungry half the time as he was used to more food then he had been eating. He just hadn't wanted anybody to go to any trouble for him, but since Bryon was insisting he would give in without a fight.

"Alright, fine," Scott said with a big sigh pretending that giving in was just because he knew that Bryon was going to keep insisting until he did.

"You big faker," Bryon said kissing his cheek affectionately.

Scott gave up the act and gave Bryon a reluctant grin. "Shall we be going?"

"Sure," Bryon agreed. "You had better change clothes first though because as you pointed out it's cold out there."

The only clothes Scott was wearing was a pair of jeans and a thick, warm sweater, and while that was fine while they were in the house once they got outside it would be considerably colder and Scott would need more protection if he didn't want to freeze his ass off.

"Going to see the sites are you?" Jasper asked his son as Scott disappeared upstairs.

"Yeah," Bryon replied. "I figured that it's time to get out of this house and do something instead of just hanging around here. This is really the perfect season for to it as this is the middle of winter where the sun is unlikely to come out from behind the clouds and if it does I just need to pull the hood of my jacket up in order to stop my face from glimmering if the sun does make an appearance."

"Has Scott made a decision on when he's going to go through the transformation?" asked Jasper curiously.

"I believe he's thinking in a month or so," Bryon said. "He's made some comments to that effect anyway, but we'll see if he follows through. I believe he's a little afraid of going through the change and I can hardly blame him because I know you told me it is very painful even if I didn't go through it myself."

"Bryon," Jasper began. "One of the reasons I wanted to talk to you while Scott wasn't here and that was to tell you that I had a ring with the Whitlock crest made for him. It's just like the one that you or any of Bella's and my male children have and I was wondering if you wanted to go ahead and give it to him or wait until after his newborn year."

Bryon looked startled at what his father had said, although he should have suspected that his parents would do something like that as he had done the same for Gerik and Lindsey although with Lindsey being female it had been a necklace instead of a ring.

Bryon considered briefly for a few seconds but then decided. "I think it's better if we go ahead and give it to him, so that Scott knows you, mom and the rest of the family really do accept our relationship. I'll make sure I take it from him before he goes through his change and put it somewhere safe until after his newborn year is over, so that he doesn't bend it all out of shape or destroy it completely. Scott has been feeling a little bit out of place and I think he is secretly afraid that you are just putting up with him for my sake and that you really don't accept him no matter how many times I assure him that isn't the case. I think his parents rejection of him is a large reason why he feels as he does and also because he is used to hiding the fact that he is gay in the first place. He isn't really used to being so open of the fact that he doesn't like women and even though he says that he doesn't love his parents anymore after what they did to him I'm sure some part of him still does."

Jasper nodded and said, "You're right in the fact that he more than likely he still loves his parents in some way even if he says he doesn't and if this will help assure him of his place in our family then Bella and I are all for it. Besides you don't really stop loving your parents no matter how bad those parents happen to be and while what the Blackwoods did to their own son was horrible it also put him in your path and you might not have met otherwise."

"I know, believe me I know," Bryon said shuddering a little in real fear at the thought of never meeting his mate. "I've thought often over the last month or so that I would like to go teach the elder Blackwoods a very painful and permanent lesson, but I haven't done it because I'm not really sure how Scotty would feel about it."

"Maybe you should bring it up with him, after he goes through this transformation so that he can participate if he wants to," Jasper suggested with the certain malicious gleam in his eyes as he agreed with his son about teaching the elder Blackwoods a very painful lesson that would end with their deaths, but not for at least a month or two if it was him and he could tell that Bryon felt the same way.

"Or he might decide to just leave them alone and as painful as that thought is I will obey his wishes," Bryon said looking upset at the thought of the older Blackwoods not getting what he felt they deserved for the emotional hurt they had caused their own son. "Really there's no reason not to teach them a lesson since all of their children should be grown at least according to what Scott has told me. The youngest boy should be almost 18 by now although we can wait a few years to make sure all of Scott's siblings are settled. I suppose we can wait until all of Scott's siblings finish college or whatever and that's only if Scott decides to do something about them as he might not."

"Which would be a shame," Jasper commented sincerely. "What Scott's parents did to their own son just makes my venom boil. How they could do that just because their eldest son turned out to be gay is just absolutely reprehensible. I really have never understood a lot of humans attitudes towards that kind of thing. What difference does it make if a man is gay or if a woman is the same way?"

"Believe me I agree, but since they are Scott's parents I won't do anything without his permission as the last thing I need is to have him furious at me," Bryon commented. "Anyway back to the subject of the ring I do believe that if we present it to him just you, mom and me that this will tell him that the whole family does accept him, especially once we inform him that is that not just anybody can wear the Whitlock crest."

"Why don't you want the rest of the family present?" Jasper asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Because I have a feeling that Scott is going to be very emotional when we present it to him and I'm sure he won't want the rest of the family around to see him lose control of his emotions. A man's got his pride and all that."

Jasper nodded as Bryon's argument was logical and giving Scott the Whitlock crest with just the three of them present was just Bryon's way of protecting his mate so the rest of the family wouldn't see him lose control of his emotions and start to cry in front of others, even if those others were part of his family. Most men didn't like to show emotions like that in front of anyone and Jasper was sure that Scott was no different in that particular way.

"Have you told him yet that you opened several accounts in his name and put $1 billion into them?" asked Jasper. "Or that Bella and I have deposited the same amount? Your Scott is now a very rich young man with about $30 billion dollars to his name as the rest of the family has contributed money as well."

"No and I don't intend to do that until after he is changed," Bryon said shaking his head. "I'm sure he's going to be furious with me at least at first as I know he has hangup about earning his own way and while I can't really blame him for his attitude there is no reason for it now. Besides it isn't like he can work at a job once he's turned into a vampire so how else is he going to have money to do things?"

"And I'm sure Scott will see the sense of that—eventually," Jasper said, "but you also have to remember that a man has his pride and they feel like they have to earn their own way and while that is commendable in this case it isn't really necessary."

Bryon nodded and didn't reply as he finally heard Scott come back downstairs.

"Ready to go?" asked Bryon and then saw that Scott was dressed even more warmly then before as he was wearing a fleece jacket along with some gloves that didn't fit as well as they should since Gavin's fingers were longer and slenderer then Scott's.

"We'll need to buy you a proper pair of gloves," Bryon said as he saw how ill fitting Gavin's gloves were on Scott's hands.

"Oh no, these will do," Scott protested, feeling as if he shouldn't be letting Bryon or anybody else spend anymore money on him then absolutely necessary. He let Bryon buy him food if only because he knew it wasn't a good idea for him to use his credit card since he was technically supposed to have just disappeared off the face of the Earth. He had quit his job at the Raven and had moved in with Bryon and his family and through he sometimes felt out of place being with Bryon made him so happy that he could basically ignore these little niggling doubts, well, for the most part anyway. What he really loved though was the fact that even though Bryon didn't need to sleep like he did Bryon still laid in bed with him and held him all throughout the night allowing Scott to cuddle in his arms and lay his head on his chest. He didn't even care about the fact that Bryon's skin was as cold as ice without any warmth that characterized his or any humans for that matter as for some reason the chilliness seemed to help him sleep for he had slept all through the night for the last several without a single nightmare that usually ended up waking him up at least once if not two or three times a night. Scott supposed it was possible that it was just the fact that it was Bryon and not the coldness of his skin that was helping him sleep so soundly. Not that it really mattered in any case.

"Well, let's get going," Bryon said not bothering to comment as he was determined to get Scott at least one pair of gloves that fit properly if not several. "We'll see you later dad," Bryon added giving his father a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"Later," Jasper agreed as he watched his son and his mate head out the door to Bryon's car.

As Jasper watched the two young men get into the car he thought that was another thing they needed to do and that was buy Scott a car, but that could wait until after they moved to a new location for Scott's change.

~~~Bryon and Scott~~~

"Scott, I need you and Bryon to come to my office for a minute, please," Jasper requested as the two of them sat on the couch in the den watching a movie with some of the rest of the family.

"Sure," Scott said looking away from the movie he was watching looking a little apprehensive all though he tried not to show it.

Bryon of course, knew what this was about and so squeezed Scott's hand in his own and calmly got up off the couch pulling Scott with him.

"Come on, let's go see what dad wants," Bryon said as he had led the way to Jasper's office.

Scott nodded looking this and a little afraid even know there was no reason to be. For some reason Scott still couldn't see that he was not only accepted here in this house of vampires that drank human blood, and so was his relationship with Bryon. His parents were largely to blame for that as they had held such a twisted view of the love that could exist between two people whether they were both male or not, but the rest of it was that Scott had never gotten any positive influences that mattered in his life and that had had a big impact on how he behaved and thought of himself. Because of that though he really couldn't believe that the Whitlocks accepted his relationship with their son, as vampires were bound to have at least some of the same priorities as human parents, since most of them had once been human after all or at least that was how Scott thought.

Scott actually expected to be kicked out at any moment or more likely to have his blood drained. What Scott did not realize though was that even if most vampires had once been human they had a totally different set of priorities to most, if not all humans. It didn't seem to matter that Bryon had said more than once that his family accepted their relationship, Scott just couldn't understand that they truly and sincerely didn't care that both Bryon and Scott were both men. Also Scott truly hadn't understood when Bryon had told him that mate bonds were sacred and that nobody tried to break up a mated couple unless they wanted to meet their own deaths at the hand of the vampire or vampires in question and no it didn't matter that Scott was human at least according to Bryon.

In most ways Scott was very self-confident, but when it came to the fact that he was gay he still wasn't used to being open about that fact, probably because he had always hidden it until his recent relationship with Bryon.

"You wanted to see us, dad?" asked Bryon calmly as he knocked on the doorframe that led to his father's study.

"Yes, come in," Jasper said calmly and Bryon entered Scott behind him at his father's words.

"Please, sit down boys," Bella said coming to sit on the edge of Jasper's desk.

"Now the reason I called you boys in here I wanted to give you something, Scott to welcome you as a member of our family."

Scott looked startled as he had been sure that Jasper had called him into his office to tell him that they wanted Bryon to get married to some nice vampire girl, so he could eventually have children with her and that he and Bella were sorry, but that he was no longer welcome in their home and they were doing to drain his blood now since they just couldn't let him go with his knowledge of the vampire world.

That was truly what he expected, so he was understandably startled when Jasper had said that he and Bella wanted to give him a welcome to the family gift.

Bella handed him a grift wrapped box and Scott took it trying to conceal the shaking of his hand as he took it from her and begin to unwrap it slowly. It had to be some kind of jewelry box as it was that small and also that shape. When Scott finally got enough of the paper off to reveal that blue velvet box that Tiffany was famous for he took a breath, removing the rest of the paper and then slowly opened the box.

Once he opened the box inside was revealed a very nice ring made out of what was probably platinum and as Scott studied it closely he noticed it was some kind of crest with words that were probably Latin written underneath.

Whitlocks pugna tantum ut necesse, Scott read silently pronouncing the foreign words slowly in his head.

"This ring is the Whitlock crest and can't be worn by just anybody," Jasper explained calmly. "I created the crest myself after I met Bella as I felt it was necessary to give other vampires warning that if my family was messed with they would soon have more trouble then they knew what to do with and would soon be nothing but ashes if one of my family was harmed. This has only happened once about 25 years ago."

"So what happened?" asked Scott beginning to relax a little as it looked like he had been wrong about what he had been thinking, which relieved him quite a bit and also made him extremely happy at the same same time.

"Well we had some nomad visitors," Bella explained. "Jasper and I saw no reason not to give them shelter for a few days, and they were only here for about a week when one of the males who was big and burly tried to rape Chloe. His exact words were that she was a beautiful woman and he wanted her and even though Chloe tried to struggle out of his grip he was just too strong. Finally Chloe bit his hand that was over her mouth and screamed for help and before the vampire nomads knew it they were restrained. It was decided after that that since we didn't want trouble in the future that all three were to be pulled apart and the limbs burned and not just to the one that committed the crime, but all three of them. That was indeed what we did as a warning to anymore vampires who show up on our doorstep. To even the most stupid of them the message is clear and that is: that kind of behavior will not be tolerated and that our hospitality only extends so far. We make sure to tell that story to all of our vampires visitors just in case they were planning on causing trouble."

"Men are just naturally a little stronger than women and that includes vampire women unless that woman worked out heavily before she was changed," Bryon explained to Scott who looked confused about why Chloe couldn't've just gotten away. "Your physical strength stays the same when you go through the change, so in other words if a woman was stronger then your average man because she liked to lift weights then that physical attribute is carried over if you are changed into a vampire. That also means though if you were in poor physical shape when you are changed that also carries over and while that means that you will still be many times stronger than your average human, you won't be stronger then a vampire that was in excellent shape before their change. My siblings and I weren't changed in the traditional fashion that's true, but also just like a normal vampire we can't gain or lose muscle like a human can and we stay the same in regards to our physical development once we are fully grown. After a year we stop growing and changing and whatever we look like by the time we finish doing that is the way we remain for the rest of our centuries on this Earth."

"Chloe is a lot like me at least in regards to body type and that means slim, slight and about average height for a woman," Bella broke in and Scott was startled because he had almost forgotten that anybody else was even there.

"Which means that she had no chance at all to fight him off by physical means," Jasper explained his voice a low menacing growl that made Scott gulp as Jasper suddenly went from amiable to menacing all in the space of a few seconds even though it wasn't him that Chloe's father was mad at. "I have, of course, taught all my children how to fight but he had Chloe's hands pinned behind her back so that she couldn't."

"It's just a good thing that some of us were home at the time," Bryon said also looking furious, although the incident had been two and a half decades ago. "Dad thought it was a good idea not to leave any of us alone with them just in case they were here to cause trouble and it turned out that was exactly what happened."

"Anyway, back to what we were talking about originally," Jasper said. "Scott, giving you the Whitlock crest means that you are now officially part of the family. You are Bryon's mate and that is all it takes to make you a Whitlock, but as I know Bryon explained to you mate bonds are sacred and are not to be messed with unless you want to be torn apart and the pieces burned."

Scott looked startled and just a tiny bit horrified at Jasper's words because he had truly thought that Bryon was having him on, when he told him that mate bonds were sacred, but now Jasper was telling him the same thing, so maybe his thinking had been skewered after all.

"I did tell him that mate bonds were sacred," Bryon said, "but he didn't believe me. I suppose the concept of having a soulmate and that once found he or she is not be messed with by other vampires and nobody is allowed to try to break them up as that would be against the law and would mean some form of punishment, usually death, is a little hard to absorb."

"Do you know why if it is against the law to try to break up a mated couple?" Bella asked Scott.

"No, Bryon didn't explain that particular thing to me," replied Scott.

"The reason it is illegal to try to break up mate bonded couple is that with the death of one and the other always follows them into death as well as one half of the soul cannot live without the other once it has been discovered," Bella explained. "If you were to die during your change for example Bryon wouldn't live for very long afterwards and there would be nothing that I, his father, or any of the rest of his family could do to prevent it from happening."

Scott looked ready to literally explode at this piece of information as Bryon hadn't said anything to that effect, when they had talked about mate bonds.

"Why didn't you ever say anything?" Scott asked turning to Bryon looking extremely irate and upset that Bryon had not told him that he would die to if Scott were to pass away for whatever reason. "It might've helped me understand a little better why mate bonds were so sacred." Scott didn't bother to mention the fact that it also explained at least partly why Jasper and Bella had accepted him so easily as they wouldn't want their son to die.

"At the time I didn't think it mattered," said Bryon now realizing that he should have told Scott why mate bonds were considered sacred. "Now I realize I should have told you why they are considered sacred and I'm truly sorry for that."

"From now on give me all the information you have and don't leave me trying to figure things out on my own when I have no foundation upon which to build. The more information you give me the easier it is going to be for me to figure out this world I have fallen into."

"Scott is right Bryon and you know it," Jasper told his son seriously. "You could have saved your mate from a lot of the doubts he has been having if you had just given him this piece of information earlier."

"I realize that now and so I will from now on not withhold any information from you," Bryon promised solemnly.

"Good," Scott said shortly still a little upset at Bryon for withholding that particular piece of information. "It's just open communications really and we shouldn't be keeping secrets from each other in any case."

"I just didn't want to bring you pain when you realized that I would die if you did," Bryon said by way of explanation. "That was my reasoning behind not telling you at the time and yet I ended up causing you pain anyway, even if it was unintentionally."

"You can't always protect me from pain or heartache, just like I can't protect you," Scott told him. "All of us, humans and vampires are part of the world and that necessarily means that sometimes there will be pain, whether physical or mental or emotional and we just have to be strong enough to take it and get past it, with the help of those who love us. Besides I'm strong enough to take it."

"I couldn't've said it better myself," Bella said applauding Scott's little speech.

"I realize that now," Bryon said looking contrite, "and I promise to try not to be so overprotective in the future."

"That is all I ask," Scott said taking Bryon's hand in his and giving it a squeeze to let him know that he was forgiven.

"So are you going to put the ring on?" asked Bryon seeming to relax after Scott squeezed his hand as he knew that meant he was forgiven.

"Before I do could you tell me what the words mean underneath the crest?" asked Scott. "They're Latin aren't they?"

"Yes, they're Latin and they mean 'Whitlocks fight only when necessary.' What that means is that while I have nothing against protecting what is mine, I still prefer peace as I have seen more than enough fighting to last me for the rest of my existence when I was part of the Southern Wars," Jasper explained calmly. "The two pairs of crossed swords in opposite diagonal quadrants mean different things. The pair that is upright mean that I am willing to fight, but the pair downwards mean I'd rather find a peaceful solution rather then fight. The tiger in the lower quadrant means, willpower, strength and courage, while the bear, is physical strength, confidence the power to stand against adversity, taking action and leadership," Jasper explained. "The gems all along the edge of the crest are rubies, in order to represent, the blood that sustains us and also the red of our eyes. The more traditional and human meaning though is, vitality, friendship, love, contentment and peace. It is even said that placed under a pillow a ruby will ward off bad dreams."

"You really thought it out," Scott said impressed in spite of himself slipping the ring onto his ring finger. What really touched him about the ring was just like Bryon's or any of the other males in the family for that matter which meant they really did accept him as they never would have given him this ring otherwise. It was often said that actions spoke louder than words, a saying that Scott had never truly understood before now, but suddenly did. Jasper's and Bella's actions in giving him the Whitlock family crest, which was only worn by members of the family meant that he had been wrong about Bryon's family not truly accepting the relationship between them. "I sure could have used something like this a few years ago as I've had a lot of nightmares about what happened that night that I ran away," Scott said after a few minutes of silence as he tried to absorb the fact that he no longer had to worry about that he might be drained of his blood because Bryon's parents could not accept the relationship with their son. He had never truly understood before that some people truly didn't care if he was gay and just accepted it as part of who he was. Come to think of it the whole family had treated him as an equal from the first, always asking him to do things with them, just like they did with Bryon, not seeming to care that he was human and those actions spoke way louder than words ever could about how he was accepted. Why he had not seen it before he didn't know, except that he had been so trapped in his misery, absolutely certain that nobody could accept him, because he was different, but he now realized that thousands if not more people all over the world were also gay or at least bisexual and that they had friends that knew that and accepted them anyway. Had his parents really given him such a screwed idea of his own sexuality? Yes, they had, because they had often acted as if they would be anywhere else then near him like he had some kind of disease and was contagious after they began to suspect his sexual orientation. Now though that he had finally accepted that there was nothing wrong with being gay, no matter what other people thought so maybe he could finally relax and enjoy himself with Bryon before he was changed.

"Which really isn't in the least surprising," Bella told Scott sympathetically responding to his comment about nightmares from a moment ago. "If my own parents had treated me the way yours did you I'm sure if I had still been human and still able to sleep I would have suffered from nightmares too."

"You know the funny thing is or perhaps it's more ironic is I haven't had a single nightmare since Bryon and I have started sleeping together, even if Bryon can't actually sleep."

"I'm glad," Bryon commented speaking for the first time in a very long time. "I didn't even know you had nightmares until you just said so, although I should have realized it was a possibility after all you went through with your parents. Who wouldn't have nightmares if something like that happened to them?"

"It isn't something I really like to talk about," Scott admitted a little sheepishly. "Male pride and all that."

Everybody in the room chuckled as that was very true as most males didn't like to admit that they had trouble sleeping because of nightmares.

"The diamonds embedded in the platinum band stand for love, excellence and purity. They have also been believed for centuries to have magical properties, but who knows if that is true or not?" Jasper continued his explanation of the ring's meaning as if he hadn't been interrupted at all.

"Thanks a lot this ring really means a lot to me," Scott finally said all choked up, although he did manage not to cry, bar a tear or two that rolled down his cheeks after Jasper had finally finished his explanations. Despite all his joking earlier he really was deeply touched that they had thought to get him a ring that was just like the ones worn by the other males in the family.

"Maybe now you'll finally believe that the whole family accepts you and not just me," Bryon said placing a hand gently on Scott's shoulder in comfort. "I was aware of your doubts about your place in 'our' family even if you never said anything, but I wasn't exactly sure how to fix it and make you see that none of my family cares in the slightest that you are male."

"The way vampires see the world is totally different from the way a human see it, Scott," Jasper explained gently. "It doesn't really matter to the vampire race if they have sex with a male or female although there are, of course, personal preferences. Normally it is impossible for a vampire to have children thanks to the fact that our organs are brought to a standstill as is our hearts when we go through the change, so such things as males liking males or females liking other females in a romantic and sexual way is rather irrelevant to our race."

"Well you guys can have children, thanks to that amulet," Scott pointed out, "so wouldn't you like Bryon to have children of his own someday?"

"We have plenty of other prospects to get grandchildren from as it isn't like Bryon is an only child," Bella pointed out reasonably. Boy was that a true statement! Scott thought as Bella continued, "and even if he was both Jasper and I would rather our son be happy then get married to some female vampire that he doesn't really care for just to have children, even if we could get him to do that voluntarily without having to force him. Some humans, like your parents Scott, might force that decision upon their children, but we would never do that to ours as their happiness means more to us then the thought of having grandchildren that are gotten in the proper manner. Besides who knows, someday you might find somebody who is injured or has some disease and want to change them into a vampire. With one of your venoms running in their body they will technically be your child, although they should be at least 20 or so if one day you do decide to do that. Usually it is the only way for a vampire to have a family."

"I wouldn't get my hopes up mom," Bryon said. "I doubt very much that will ever happen as I'm not sure that I will ever have the control necessary to change someone without killing them and that's even if Scott and I wanted to do that."

"A woman can hope," Bella said with a philosophical shrug. "If it happens, it happens, if it doesn't, it doesn't."

~~~Bryon and Scott~~~

By the time Bryon and Scott left the study an hour later, Scott was much more relaxed and happier then had has been since he had first met Bryon's parents.

"I hope this," Bryon began tapping the ring on Scott's finger, "will finally convince you that you are accepted and that neither my parents nor my family are just putting up with you because of me."

Scott stared at his new ring seeming deep in thought and then finally he nodded. "Yes, I believe I have finally come to terms with the fact that some people will accept you no matter what whether you are gay, straight or bisexual. I think my main problem with that idea before was the fact that my parents certainly never accepted the fact that I was gay, even if all they had was suspicions, and they did try to force me to sign off on a marriage contract and force me into their very narrow mold of what was considered acceptable behavior. I should have realized a long time ago that that kind of thing will effect you for the rest of life and color any future relationships."

Bryon's expression turned stormy as he thought about Scott's parents. "You know I've often thought and considered finding your parents, taking them somewhere where we are unlikely to be discovered, torturing them for month or two before finally ending their miserable, shallow, selfish little lives.

Scott looked startled at the vehemence in Bryon's voice. "You would really do that for me?" asked Scott deeply touched that Bryon loved him so much that he wanted to go find his parents and torture them for the way they had treated him.

"Oh yeah," Bryon assured him giving him a hard kiss on the mouth, "and I would enjoy it too. It would make me even happier if you wanted to join in and let me see you torture them just for the fact that they couldn't accept you for yourself and tried to force you to be just as shallow, narrowminded and selfish as they are."

"Rather bloodthirsty, aren't you?" Scott teased gently trying not to show that he was deeply touched by Bryon's little speech.

"I've told you more than once that where you are concerned I can be as bloodthirsty as you can possibly imagine," Bryon said. "Vampires are a bloodthirsty race anyway as our emotions are much stronger than a human being's as you well know and when something offends one of us we tend to go after it until whatever has upset us is totally and completely obliterated off the face of the Earth."

"And if I asked you not to go after my parents?" asked Scott looking a little apprehensive as he waited for Bryon's response.

"Then, although it would pain me, deeply, I would do as you requested because I love you enough to let them live—even if they don't deserve any mercy from me or you—if that was what you wanted," Bryon replied looking pained.

"I'll have to think about it," Scott finally replied relieved at Bryon's answer. Apparently Bryon loved him enough to go along with that he wanted and if he wanted his parents left alone then Bryon would comply with his wishes even though it was clear that the idea pained him deeply.

He actually partially agreed with the fact that his parents deserved to pay for what they had not only done to him but his other siblings by ordering them to never to try to find him or contact him in anyway as at one time he and his brothers and sisters had been really close, but did they really deserve death? The more important question in his mind though was how would his parents disappearance affect his siblings?

"It's not that I don't agree with you that my parents don't deserve any mercy," Scott explained when it was apparent that Bryon wanted to know why Scott didn't want revenge. "It's not out of any love for them I assure you, but more the fact of how my siblings will be affected by their disappearance. We humans need closure and if we tortured them and then buried their bodies somewhere remote my brothers and sisters would never get that and I don't really want to do that to them as I still love them even if they haven't tried to contact me after that initial message."

"But if your parents disappearance didn't negatively impact your siblings?" asked Bryon now understanding why Scott appeared so reluctant.

"Then I would happily torture them for a month or two maybe even six before I let them die and pass into hell where they belong," Scott replied vehemently

"Well, it appears I'm not the only one that is bloodthirsty," Bryon said a little teasingly repeating what Scott had said earlier if not exactly word for word the gist of it was there. "If you're this bloodthirsty as a human just imagine what you'll be like as a vampire."

"Normally I'm not bloodthirsty at all," Scott said looking a little ashamed of his reaction, even though he had no reason to be, "but after what my parents did I wouldn't have any qualms about giving them what they deserved if not for my siblings that is."

"We can shelve this discussion for now until after you're a vampire and then we'll see how you feel," Bryon said hoping that Scott would change his mind although he could hardly blame him for not wanting to disrupt his siblings lives. "Maybe after your newborn year is over we can go to Scotland and check into the situation."

"I would love to show you my homeland," Scott said with a ear to ear grin.

"Then we'll have to do that and explore a little even if we do decide not to do anything about your parents," Bryon said.

"I would enjoy that," Scott said giving Bryon a very heartfelt, passionate kiss on the lips.

"Good," said Bryon looking a little dazed as soon as they had broken the kiss, causing Scott to grin at the effect he had on Bryon.

~~~Bryon and Scott~~~

Waking up in Bryon's arms was beginning to be one of the Scott's favorite activities and he could gladly spend the rest of his life just lying here with Bryon holding him tenderly and lovingly all night long even though he didn't need to sleep. Bryon seemed to enjoy it as much as he did as he seemed completely happy to just lay there and watch Scott sleep for hours at a time.

When Scott finally awoke fully he stretched and yawned and then thought about the fact that when he was ready Bryon was going to turn into a vampire, which he had already given his consent for. Was he ready to give up his life in a way? To spend the rest of eternity with Bryon? Scott asked himself as he got out of bed and started to prepare for the day. Hell yes! He was more than ready for pretty soon he was going to explode from sexual frustration if nothing else and he knew that Bryon felt the same as he had a habit of sending Scott his feeling that left him stunned every time from the intensity of them, which he knew would get much stronger once he was turned.

"I love you," Bryon told him as soon as he saw Scott was awake. Bryon said this every morning, but every morning Scott knew that Bryon meant it with every ounce of feeling in his soul, so he didn't really mind it and in fact the words coming from the man he loved and adored were very welcome indeed and Scott secretly hoped that Bryon would continue saying the words even 1,000 years from now.

"I love you too, so much," Scott said giving Bryon a kiss on the lips even though he knew he should probably brush his teeth first as he was sure he had morning breath.

"Bryon," Scott began as soon as he had risen from the bed, brushed his teeth, and used the toilet as his bladder was very full. "I'm ready," Scott said in a rush.

"Ready?" asked Bryon not daring to hope that Scott meant what he thought he did.

"To spend an spend an eternity at your side," Scott clarified.

"Really?" asked Bryon his whole face lighting up as he hadn't been sure that Scott would ever be ready and yet it had only been a month.

"Yes, really," Scott said as he finished getting dressed. "I'm more than ready if you want to know the truth and just a few moments ago I realized it. I'm ready to spend eternity with you."

"Thank you," Bryon said softly, reverently as he gave Scott a kiss on the forehead before kissing his lips softly and yet passionately at the same time.

"What are you thanking me for? I want this just as much as you do," Scott said with a raised eyebrow.

Bryon didn't reply just held Scott to his chest for a moment thanking every deity he could think of that Scott was willing to put up with the pain of the transformation so that the two of them would never be separated by death one day. "We'll need to make a few preparations before we can begin and now that you've said you're ready I don't see any point in putting it off," Bryon finally said after he had reluctantly released Scotty.

"I'm not gonna change my mind if that's what you're worried about," Scott replied with a raised eyebrow.

"No, that's not what I'm worried about as we really do need to make a few preparations and I'm also anxious for you to go through your transformation because I don't like to think of you in such torment even though dad explained to all of us children that it is necessary in order to turn a human into a vampire."

"You'll stay with me the whole time, right?" Scott asked trying to not let his voice we quiver as he was just a little afraid of the pain he was about to experience even though he knew that it was a necessary part of the process of turning a human into a vampire.

"I won't leave your side," Bryon promised fervently. "I'll hold your hand the whole time and talk to you until you are finished with your transformation. When you are like me I swear I will love you forever and that's a promise."

"Then I'm ready whenever you are," Scott said, bravely pushing his fear of the pain he was about to be in very shortly down deep inside himself.

"Let me go tell mom and dad that you have said that you ready to be turned into a vampire and then we better go get you some breakfast as this will be the last time that you ever have the opportunity to eat."

"Why bother with breakfast at all?" asked Scott. "I'm too nervous to eat much anyway. In the last month I've sampled food items that I've never even heard of just get the experience even if I won't remember them after my transformation. I even tried calamari and frog legs for goodness sakes, two things I never would have tried if I wasn't going to be turned into a vampire and had remained human for the rest of my life."

"Consider it your last meal," Bryon told Scott. "Try, to eat for me!"

"Alright," Scott said giving in, "but I guarantee you I won't be able to eat much not the way my stomach feels like a whole flock of butterflies have taken up permanent residence."

"Good, and while you are eating, my father and I have a few preparations to make," said Bryon.

"So you said, but what kind of preparations could you have?" asked Scott

"Well, for one thing I know dad and mom want to move to a different location before you start your change just so we go somewhere where nobody knows you, just as a precaution. We own an estate with plenty of land for you to be able to get out of the house that's only a couple hundred miles from here and we can drive that in just a few hours, especially at the speed we drive. Also dad is probably going to want everybody to hunt before we get going just to be on the safe side and that will include me, even though I've been hunting more often these days just to make sure I don't hurt you by accident because I'm a little hungry. Actually it will probably just be you, me, mom and dad and possibly Melodie at least at first," Bryon said after thinking about it for moment. "The others can follow whenever they like. As for mom she will want to make sure that the bed you're going to do your transformation in at least has clean sheets if nothing else and considering we haven't used his place and at 10 years there's bound to be dust everywhere."

"Yes, I can see what you mean about preparations," Scott said having had no idea that his transformation was going to be so much work to the others and he began to feel a little guilty for that as he would be of no help as vampires were just much, much faster and as a human he would still be cleaning the place a month from now, while Bryon and his family could probably have it done in a matter of a few hours.

"Hey, there's no need to feel guilty that this is a little more complicated than you thought," Bryon said putting his hands on opposite shoulders and turning Scott to face him. "We're used to cleaning every time we move to a new place and do it in stages so we're doing the most important rooms first, the ones we use frequently, and then doing the rest whenever they are going to be occupied."

"So you don't clean the whole house in one day?" asked Scott.

"No! That would take forever, even for us, so mom came up with this system that we only dust and clean the rooms that we use regularly and the rest just stay locked up until they're needed," Bryon explained. "Besides it isn't like we can sneeze because as vampires we just can't."

"Well, that makes me feel a little bit better," Scott admitted.

"Good, now let's go get you some breakfast and then I'll go talk to dad," Bryon said. "Oh by the way I'll take this and keep it safe for you," Bryon added pointing at the Whitlock crest on Scott's finger.

"Why?" asked Scott, feeling very reluctant to remove the ring that had been given to him as a sign of his acceptance into the family.

"Because once you are a newborn you will more than likely destroy it without meaning to," Bryon explained. "I just want to make sure that doesn't happen and once you learn to control your strength you can have it back."

"Are you sure I'm likely to destroy it?" asked Scott. "It is platinum after all and it is supposed to be a tough metal."

"For a human yes it is nearly impossible to destroy without special equipment, but imagine yourself as at least 25 or even 50 times stronger as a regular human and you will see that your ring could end up as a piece of scrap metal very easily, which I know you don't want."

"No, I don't want to damage or destroy it on accident as I would be very upset if that happened," Scott sighed and removed his ring, with visible reluctance on his face and handed it to Bryon. "Make sure you keep it safe for me and return when I've learned not to destroy things with a mere touch is all I ask."

"I will," Bryon promised solemnly taking the ring Scott handed him. "Now let's head downstairs, so we can get you something to eat."

Scott nodded and the two young men headed downstairs hand in hand.

~~~Bryon and Scott~~~

"Ready?" asked Bryon who looked incredibly nervous about being the one to bite Scott and fill him with his venom. It wasn't that he didn't want to as he would rather Scott have his venom running in his veins then anyone else's, like his father's, but he had never even tried to change a human before and he didn't really want for his first try to be with the man he loved, just in case he couldn't stop himself from killing his mate.

It was just over a month later and Bryon had been right in that fact that his parents would want to move to another location just to be on the safe side and that had taken time. Even if they had had plenty of locations to choose from that were nice and isolated, it took time to move all their stuff to the location they had chosen and to get the most important rooms cleaned and settled enough to proceed.

Scott had been warned about what would happen, the pain he was going to be in for three straight days after Bryon's venom was injected into his system, several times actually over the last month. Scott had also been told exactly what being a newborn was going to be like, about how he would be stronger for the first year thanks to both his blood and a vampire's venom being inside his body. Jasper had explained very calmly the physical changes his human body would be going through, the way the skin hardened so it would be nearly impossible to injure except by another of their kind, the way his organs stopped never to move again, the way his hair would lengthen a couple of inches and also when Scott awoke for the first time he would have bright red eyes that would gradually change to a darker red during his first year. Jasper then explained the changes that would take place inside his body, well besides the organs stopping that had already been mentioned. Jasper explained to Scott about how he would go from only using a small percentage of his brain's actual capacity to using all of it and how his vampire memories would be so much stronger then his human ones and how his memory would become eidetic so that he would never forget a single detail of anything he experienced or learned no matter how many centuries he lived and how he would no longer be able to sleep and so would have to find a way to keep himself occupied twenty-four hours a day since he would not be able to waste eight or so hours sleeping every night. He explained that once he was a vampire he would remain the age he had been changed at as if frozen in time and Scott had nodded saying that Bryon had already explained some of these things to him, but not all of them.

None of the members of the family bothered to mention how Scott's skin would sparkle like a million diamonds had been embedded in it whenever he went out in the sun as the whole family felt that Scott wouldn't believe it until he experienced it for himself.

"There's no reason to be nervous son," Jasper told Bryon, calmly clapping him on the shoulder. "I will be right here and if you do start to drain Scott instead of changing him I will be able to stop you."

"While that helps I am still very nervous," said Bryon. "I've never tried changing a human into a vampire before. I've hunted humans aplenty and drained them for my meals, but I've never deliberately tried to change someone into a vampire."

"Well, I am ready, whenever you are," said Scott as he lay on the bed in nothing but an undershirt and a pair of underwear. He had been told that he needed to be wearing as little as possible as Bryon was not only going to bite him over the pulse point of his neck, but on his wrists and ankles to in order to get as much venom flowing as possible, to speed up the transformation.

"Alright," Bryon said as he came to stand at the side of the bed where Scott lay. Bryon studied Scott's body for a moment and practically salivated as Scott had a very slim, muscular and athletic body that he could barely wait to make love to for the first time.

"I trust you," Scott told him, blushing a little as he noticed the way Bryon ogled his body. The lust and need in Bryon's red eyes made Scott want to fuck him senseless and never let him go and in three days that would be possible, but right now he needed to get his libido under control.

Bryon would have blushed if he could have for he hadn't meant to get caught ogling his mate's body which he couldn't wait to touch and kiss as soon as the transformation was complete.

Jasper shot his son an amused, but understanding look and Bryon began to radiate embarrassment.

Bryon leaned down over of the vein in Scott's neck and gently bit down taking just a few gulps of blood.  
More! I want more! The monster within him roared. Drain him! Drain him dry! You know you want to!

If I do that then you and I will soon follow Scott into death, Bryon argued. He is our mate and you know very well what will happen to us if he dies!

The monster within Bryon subsided at that as he did indeed know what would happen if Scott were to die. What do you know his father's advice had worked, Bryon thought as he moved from Scott's neck to his wrist and then to his ankles. Jasper had advised his son that if his bloodlust reared its ugly head he was to remind that part of him that if Scott died he would soon follow. It worked for me when I transformed Bella as the vampire part of me also wanted to drain my mate dry instead of changing her and telling that part of me that if she died he would as well had done the trick.

"See I knew you could do it," Jasper told his son as soon as Bryon finished injecting his venom into Scott's body and stood back up.

Scott immediately began to scream and whimper as the venom raced through his body.

"It's only because of the advice you gave you that I was able to not drain him dry, so thanks, dad," Bryon replied feeling extremely grateful that he had managed to bite Scott without draining him He gave his father a distracted hug.

"You're more than welcome," Jasper said. "I would not want you to kill Scott on accident and not only because I don't want you to end your existence, although that is certainly part of it, but because your mother and I have come to care about Scott as well."

"I know and I told Scott as much although he really didn't believe me," said Bryon. "I know that my brothers and sisters that he has met like him as well which is all the good as far as I'm concerned as I wouldn't want for them to not like Scott. I know there is bound to be some friction occasionally as even vampires can get along all the time but I would still like for them to at least respect each other."

"Which will happen in time," said Jasper. "Your siblings love you just as you love them and they will try to get along with Scott just because of that fact and it will not be long before they really do get along with him because they like and respect him and not just for your sake."

"You're right," Bryon said looking a little less worried.

"Now I'll leave you and Scott alone and I'll have someone bring you a meal as you'll need one before Scott finishes transforming. I'm also going to have a couple of the children go into town and bring back an assortment of humans since Scott as a newborn will be very hungry when he wakes."

"Thanks dad, I love you," said Bryon distractedly.

"I love you to and you're very welcome," Jasper replied his tone affectionate, before leaving the room to give out his orders to the few of his and Bella's children that weren't out traveling the world.

Bryon sat down beside Scott's bed, took his hand and began talking to him as his mate screamed in pain from the venom racing through his system.

~~~Jasper and Bella~~~

"And when you finally have your bloodlust under control we'll travel the world, just you and me," Bryon said his voice not in the least hoarse even though he had been talking for hours. It was almost 3 days later and Scott didn't have much more time to go before the transformation would be complete.

"Bryon, can't you stop long enough and eat something," came the voice of Bryon's oldest brother Paddy.

"Paddy, when did you get here? Weren't you traveling in England?"

"I got here yesterday but I didn't want to bother you. When I heard the news that you had finally found your mate I had to come see for myself," Patrick replied bringing forth a struggling human for his brother to feed on. "Now why don't you drain her and then you can go back to what you were doing as it shouldn't be long before your mate wakes up."

"His name is Scott," Bryon informed his brother.

"Before Scott wakes up," Patrick said without missing a beat.

"No, no," the woman whimpered as Bryon grabbed her arm and pulled her towards him. "Please spare me!"

Bryon didn't bother to reply and simply held onto her arm so tightly that he crushed the bones to powder and then bit down on the artery that was in the side of the neck and started to drain her dry ignoring her whimpers and screams of pain from where he had crushed the bones in her arm.

"Thanks, bro, I feel much better now," Bryon said as he finally finished draining the woman dry and then threw the the corpse towards his brother. "I hadn't realized how thirsty I had gotten until you mentioned it. I suppose I was so focused on Scott that I just didn't notice."

"And that is exactly how it should be," Patrick told his brother, "and you're welcome. Now I'll remove the corpse for you and leave you to your talking. It shouldn't be long before Scott wakes up and we can all meet him. Well, the ones that haven't met him already anyway."

"So who else has come home besides you?" asked Bryon just a little distracted.

"Well Gabe is here as is Ange, Rory, Rowan and Troy, but I believe that is it, besides the ones that were already here," Patrick said. "To tell you the truth dad thought it was a bad idea to have everyone here as he thought it might be overwhelming to have so many other vampires around so the others were told not to come home for the moment anyway."

Bryon nodded as that made sense and as it was half his siblings were here.

Patrick observed his younger brother for a minute and then quietly picked up the corpse of the woman from Bryon's meal and left the room shutting the door very gently behind him.

~~~Jasper and Bella~~~

Bryon stopped speaking as his mate's screaming cut off suddenly and his heart gave one final frantic beat and then stopped completely.

"I'm thirsty," came a voice that was much deeper and huskier than before, but still very recognizable.

"Scott?" asked Bryon softly, praying that his mate remembered him

His father had told him that a lot of vampires didn't remember their human lives at all if their change had been particularly violent. Scott change though had been anything but violent as Bryon had made him as comfortable as possible and it helped that Scott hadn't been in any kind of accident or wasn't dying at the time his change had begun.

Scott opened his eyes, blinking rapidly several times as if trying to clear his vision.

"You okay?" Bryon asked quietly his tone soothing. Scott sat up and spun around all in a single motion and stared at Bryon for a few seconds.

"Who are you? Where am I?" asked Scott.

"Don't you remember," asked Bryon looking worried. "Your name is Scott Nathaniel Blackwood, but everybody calls you Scotty. We met at a club called the New Wave in New York."

Scott's brows furrowed as he struggled to remember. "Bryon, your name is Bryon? Is that right or am I entirely off the mark?"

"That's right," Bryon said trying to control his elation that Scott remembered his name. "Do you remember anything else?"

Scott's eyebrows furrowed again—which Bryon thought was adorable—and it was only seconds later when he said, "I remember the pain I was in. I truly believed I was burning in hell for whatever sins I had committed and then suddenly the pain just stopped."

"Anything else?" asked Bryon gently.

"I seem to have a vague memory of us sitting on a couch somewhere making out rather heavily," said Scott feeling embarrassed.

Bryon's cheeks would have been a bright fire engine red as he remembered several session like that.

"So that happened," said Scott noticing Bryon's reaction.

"Yes," said Bryon.

Scott's brows came together again and finally he said hesitantly, "We are mates, right? I seem to remember a conversation where you were telling me that you had been drawn to me the second you looked into my eyes and that you were a vampire."

"Yes, that is accurate," Bryon agreed jumping up and down inside, "but we can discuss the details after we get you fed as I know that your throat is burning like a forest fire right now."

"Blood?" asked Scott his voice plaintive.

"Yes, blood," Bryon said. "Follow me and I'll lead you to where some of my siblings locked up some humans for you and me to feed on."

Bryon opened the bedroom door and walked through it and down the stairs and towards a converted wine cellar, Scott following along like an eager puppy, which pleased Bryon no end as Scott had been unsure if he would be able to stand the guilt of killing humans, who he after all had used to be just like. Hopefully Scott wouldn't feel to guilty once he had actually fed, but Bryon would be there to help him work through the guilt of killing another sentient being even if this was the way that vampires had always lived and even if it was something they had to do in order to survive for a vampire that didn't feed regularly, was a vampire that was an extreme danger to the human population and also of the human population finding out about them. If a vampire didn't feed regularly their instincts would take over and if they got hungry enough they would race to the nearest town in a frenzy of hunger and kill a hundred people, or more tearing them apart, but not really drinking their blood. That kind of wild crazed newborn would have to be destroyed as if a vampire went without blood for to long—especially a newborn—they became crazed and uncontrollable monsters without a hope of saving them and it was just better to destroy a new vampire if that happened. At least that was what his father had told him, although it wasn't something he had experienced himself.

As they went through the house Bryon noticed that it was very quiet and he knew that the family that was present was waiting for them in the living room and wouldn't interfere with a new vampire's first feeding. For one thing Scott didn't know any of them well enough to trust them and in fact the only vampire that Scott knew as anything other than a mere acquaintance was Bryon. Unfortunately there had been no time for the rest of the family to build relationships with Scott before his transformation took place. Even though Scott hadn't gone through the transformation for a month he had spent every minute that he wasn't sleeping or eating with Bryon, which was as it should be.

"Here we are," said Bryon opening the door to the cellar with the key that one of the others had left on a hook by the door.

"How do we get down?" asked Scott seeing that there were only the remnants of a staircase that had allowed someone to get down to the cellar in the past. Scott looked into the dimly lit room down below from where he was standing, with his new, improved vampire eyesight allowing him to see the details clearly even though there was so little light in which to see by.

"We jump," Bryon explained. "While it is to high for a human to jump and make it without some kind of help, we vampires can jump great distances and the distance between the floor of the cellar to up here is nowhere near an impossible jump for our kind—either way."  
"I would think that would be the point," Scott said. "We can get in and out, but the humans can't."

"Precisely," Bryon agreed. "Would you like to go first?"

"Sure," Scott said taking a giant leap from the doorway. When he finally landed just a few seconds later it was in the middle of the room amongst a knot of humans. It didn't take any instructions from Bryon for Scott to figure out how to feed for as soon as he heard the humans frantic heartbeats instincts took over and he was on his first human draining the man dry in the blink of an eye.

After Bryon was sure that Scott knew what he was doing he joined his mate and also grabbed a human to feed on as he hadn't fed except for that one woman that his brother had brought him over a day ago and so he was very thirsty.

"Mmm, that was the most delicious thing I can remember ever having tasted," Scott said his tongue licking lower lip as soon as he had finished draining his first corpse.

"Well, if you are not full why don't you have another?" Bryon suggested. "We have plenty and for the next year you'll be eating down here until after your newborn year is over. Once it is my father and I will teach you how to hunt."

"And what are we going to do after we had finished feeding?" asked Scott, just a little curiously.

"Well after we finish here we have to go reintroduce you to the rest of the family," Bryon explained. "After that though I plan on fucking senseless now that you are not human anymore and therefore easily breakable."

"I won't object to that, I promise," Scott told Bryon with a sly smirk that made Bryon's mouth go figuratively dry. "I've been wanting you for quite some time and I know that for a fact as I am beginning to remember more and more now that I have some fresh blood in my system."

"Well, let's finish up here so that we can go and do to that. Only don't plan on leaving the bed until you need to feed again," said Bryon sounding eager and truthfully Scott was the same way.

"Why don't you fagots let us go!" yelled one man looking ready to charge at the two.

"What did you call us?" asked Bryon whirling around very quickly causing the man who had spoken to fall silent and shrink back in fear. "Answer me!"

"I believe he called us fagots," said Scott stalking gracefully towards the man and when he got close enough he gripped the man's shirt ripping it to shreds accidentally as he had not yet learned to control his strength since he was only minutes old. "I believe this man has sealed his fate, wouldn't you agree?" Scott asked Bryon calmly while fire burning in his newly red eyes let Bryon know that his mate was very pissed off. Not to mention the emotions that Scott was radiating, which were anger, disgust and loathing as well as many more all of them negative and directed at the man who didn't know when to keep his mouth shut.

"Yes, I agree," Bryon said coming to stand beside his mate. "He would've died anyway but he might have lived another couple of days anyway if he had kept his mouth shut."

"Well, I believe it is a case of where his mouth overran his brain and I believe it is called the foot in mouth disease, although that usually doesn't mean the person's death," Scott said.

"Want to share him?" Bryon suggested. "Mom and dad do it all the time and they tell me that it is because they are mates that they are able to do so as normally no vampire will share a meal with another and will attack if another invades their territory while they are feeding."

"Why not," Scott said. "I would be delighted to share this man with you."

"You take one side of his neck and I'll take the other," Bryon instructed.

Scott nodded and they both struck at the same instant and started draining the man's blood rapidly, while looking directly into each others eyes and holding hands as they did so.

It took only half the time to drain the loudmouth dry and both Bryon and Scott thought it was the most erotic experience they had ever had as both their penises had immediately stood at attention and became as hard as—well—stone.

"Is your throat still burning or has it stopped?" asked Bryon.

"It's still burning a little," Scott admitted after a moment.

"If it still burning then you need to drink another. If it has stopped and then you don't necessarily need anymore right this minute although you can still drink until you feel as if you are going to explode. If you do that after your newborn year is over you won't need to hunt quite as often."

Scott followed his mate's instructions and grabbed a random human immediately latching on and began to drain her blood.

When Scott had finished he dropped the corpse to the ground and said, "My throat is no longer burning and that's good right?"

"Yes, that's very good as that means you're no longer thirsty," Bryon assured him. "So ready to go see the rest of the family?"

"Not really, but we might as well get it over with."

"Don't be so downcast, they already love you even if you don't remember that they do. If it helps think of it is kind of reintroduction since you've already been introduced once."

"Alright, let's get going," Scott said making the jump from the cellar to the kitchen doorway easily, Bryon following.

~~~Bryon and Scott~~~

"Well, finally, little brother, what took you so long?" asked Melodie as Bryon and Scott came into the den where everybody was waiting.

"Melodie," Jasper barked calmly, "now is not the time."

Melodie hung her head in shame and fell silent.

"Scotty, I would like you to meet my family, my father, Jasper Whitlock, my mother Bella, my twin sister, Melodie, my older brothers Patrick, Gabriel and Trevor, my younger sisters Meredith, Angelina and Chloe and my younger brothers Rory, Rowan, Troy and Gavin, who you borrowed clothes from," Bryon introduced.

"It's nice to meet all of you again," Scott said politely.

"Don't you remember meeting us before?" asked Gavin curiously.

"Very vaguely, but its not clear," Scott said looking apologetical with a shrug. "Sorry."

"There is nothing to apologize for as that is to be expected," Jasper said as he came over and shook Scott's hand. "When a human goes through the transformation the memory suffers the consequences and most humans don't remember a whole lot about their lives before. By the time their newborn year is over they only have a few clear memories of ever being human."

"What do you remember about your life before you were changed?" asked Meredith curiously.

"I remember meeting Bryon in a club, although I don't remember the name of the club at the moment," Scott admitted. "I believe I remember most if not all of the memories that involve Bryon as I seem to vaguely recall going to great lengths so I didn't forget how we met or our time together."

"You told me you were going to try that as you said that the rest of your past didn't matter to you, but that you wanted to remember every moment of how we met and all of our time together," Bryon revealed.

"That is so sweet," Meredith said looking a little sad that she had not yet found her mate. If Meredith was anything it was a romantic at heart which was kind of strange if you thought about it since she was one of the undead.

Bryon and Scott spent a few minutes chitchatting with the other members of the family just to be polite, but when Bryon stood up Scott immediately did the same.

"If you'll excuse us I believe Scott and I have some unfinished business to take care of," Bryon said politely.

"And what kind of business… Oh..." Troy said embarrassed as he realized that Bryon and Scott more than likely wanted to finalize the mates bond between them. He felt like an idiot for not realizing it immediately, although it just hadn't occurred to him, probably because as far as he knew he was completely straight and not gay or bisexual.

"Don't expect to see either of us anytime soon," Bryon said as he headed towards the stairs and his room, Scott eagerly following.

"Don't worry, we won't. Don't do anything I wouldn't do," Melodie called after them.

Bryon nearly choked at that as he knew his twin had had a series of lovers, all male, both human and vampire over the years. A lot of the humans had not survived and died during lovemaking or been so injured because she had forgotten to watch her strength that Melodie had had to feed off them afterwards which didn't seem to bother her in the slightest.

~~~Jasper and Bella~~~

What did your sister mean when she said: Don't do anything I wouldn't do?" asked Scott as soon as they had gotten to Bryon's room and shut the door.

"Well, Melodie has always been a very vivacious lover and she has killed or seriously injured more then one human man that she had sex with by not watching her strength, which is one of the reasons I didn't want to make love to you until after you were changed as I was afraid I'd hurt you or kill you on accident," Bryon explained just a little embarrassed to be talking about his sister's previous lovers.

"Well, now that I am like you and have been properly fed why don't we get started?" Scott suggested with a knowing smirk knowing very well how Bryon was going to respond to that as he remembered every single one of their makeout session, while he had been human.

Bryon didn't respond verbally but instead stripped out of his clothes in less than a second and also helped Scott out of his clothes so he wouldn't rip them to shred if he tried to do it himself.

"I've been wanting to do this to you for quite some time," Bryon commented his voice husky with desire as he took some lube out of the drawer of his bedside table. "I'm afraid that this first time is going to be rough as I don't think I can be gentle since I've been wanting you for so long. How I resisted taking you when you were human I don't have a clue, other than the fact that I am one stubborn son of a bitch."

"Just get on with it, I can take a little roughness," Scott ordered this voice thick with suppressed desire.

Bryon nodded gently kissing Scott on the lips, his tongue demanding entrance to Scott's mouth, while at the same time his hands were opening the bottle of lube.

As soon as he had to top off the lube he spread a large dollop onto his hands and rubbed them together until it was spread evenly. He then spread it over his cock which was standing at attention as straight as an arrow, ready to go.

"Now I want you to tell me when you are about to come," Bryon said gently.

Scott nodded not bothering to ask why Bryon wanted to know when he was about to climax as he suspected he already knew that answer. He had been told a week ago that in order to complete the bond they were going to have the urge to bite each other and that he wasn't to resist that urge to bite if it overtook him and that Bryon would do the same. Scott watched as Bryon spread the lube over his cock, which made him even harder as a result. After Bryon was done doing that he spread a little bit more lube onto his fingers and gently penetrated Scott's anus or hole making sure to rub the lube in throughly, so that Scott would be nice and slick and therefore easier to penetrate and that meant less pain for his mate, which he was all for. Scott whimpered and made other little sounds of pleasure as Bryon's touch felt so good. It was almost like Bryon was meant to be the only one doing this to him as when he had had sex with other men it had never felt so right as what Bryon was doing to him.

"That feels so good," Scott said his accent even thicker then normal. "You haven't even really done anything yet but just feeling your fingers in my hole makes me want to feel your cock sheathed inside my body."

"Your wish is my command and my extreme pleasure," Bryon said softly. "I love you, I don't think I tell you that often enough," Bryon added huskily as Scott lay on his belly.

Bryon positioned his cock and unable to wait another second to be sheathed inside his mate's glorious body he rammed his cock into what he considered his home.

"Ohhh, that feels so good," Bryon whimpered in pleasure. "You're so tight and slick."

Bryon withdrew a little and then rammed himself into Scott's body again causing both men to whimper and make other little sounds of pleasure.

"I'm going to come," Scott warned a few seconds later his voice and accent so thick that he was not easily understandable.

At those words the monsters inside both Bryon and Scott took over and Bryon quickly withdrew his cock, flipped Scott onto his back, lowered himself to where he was straddling Scott's stomach with his legs on either side of his mate's body and was just in time to see Scott's engorged penis start to release its cum all over his stomach and for his mate to make long low sounds of intense pleasure as his orgasm ripped through him like a hurricane. Bryon, who had also felt his climax building all the time that he was was fucking Scott, came instantly when he saw the look of intense pleasure on Scott's face.

Just as Scott's and Bryon's climaxes were coming to an end both men instinctively reacted and while Scott leaned up his bright red eyes rolled back from the intense, mind consuming pleasure he was feeling, Bryon leaned down and both men bit down onto each others shoulders, their teeth penetrating each others stonelike flesh marking each other for all time.

"Whoah!" Scott muttered as soon as he thought he could speak.

"Yes, whoah!" Bryon agreed. "That is a very good word for it. I'm not lying when I say that is the most intense orgasm I've ever had in my 160 years."

When Bryon saw the jealousy on Scott's face he hastened to reassure him. "There is no need to worry about my feelings for you, Scotty," Bryon said. "All those of the men's were years before you were even a gleam in your parents eyes. They were a way to relieve my sexual tension, that didn't involve me masturbating, nothing more. Besides every single one of them is dead as I drained all of them afterwards, if I didn't outright kill them that is just from fucking them senseless since a lot of times I forgot to watch my strength."

"I have no right to be jealous," Scott admitted after a moment the jealousy leaving his face. "I seem to vaguely remember that I was no virgin before I met you."

"You certainly weren't," Bryon said laughing now as the tension left his body once the jealousy left Scott's face and his emotions. "You told me about quite a few of your sexcapades."

"You're not jealous?" asked Scott wonder in his voice.

"No, I don't see any reason to get all jealous when you're mine now and those antics of yours were way before you met me," Bryon explained. "Of course now that you are mine if you even think about fucking another man you will regret it and so will he," Bryon added his expression turning deadly serious. "I don't care if who you fucked is human or vampire, they will end up in a great deal of very tiny pieces that I will make sure to burn until there is nothing left, but ash and then you and I will be having a little discussion that will not be pleasant."

"You don't need to worry about me fucking anyone else," Scott assured Bryon raising a hand and running a finger along his mate's cheek tenderly causing Bryon to lean into his mate's gentle, loving touch craving more as he would never get enough of the love he felt every time Scott touched him. "You're the only one for me I promise you and all those sexcapades as you put it are a thing of the past, unless they are with you. I feel the bond we share, the one you told me about when I was still human," Scott added after a moment. "Just thinking about fucking other men makes me almost literally sick to my stomach if that was possible for a vampire that is. The bond between us it is so strong that I am sure if I was still human it would literally knock me off my feet."

Bryon relaxed at Scott's words as he could feel that his mate meant every word he uttered. There would never be another man for him and he, Bryon was all Scott needed or wanted to be blissfully happy.

"Good, make sure you keep it that way and we won't have any problems," Bryon ordered cuddling into Scott's side contentedly.

"And you had better do the same," Scott told his mate only halfway joking. "I am very possessive and I guarantee you the same thing will happen to any other man that isn't me that I find you fucking."

"Won't happen," Bryon told him sounding too happy to get upset, besides he liked his mate's jealous possessiveness as it made him feel loved. "I've been waiting for my mate for 160 years and I don't plan on fucking any other man that isn't you. I won't claim I was a virgin before I met you because that would be a lie as you very well know, but I will promise that those men are a thing of the past and I can't even think about fucking any other man that isn't you without me wanting to rip something to shreds."

"So long as we understand each other," Scott said cuddling into Bryon's side happily.

"Now that we got that settled ready for another round?" asked Bryon as his cock was already standing at attention again and had been for the past few minutes. One of the great things about being a vampire was that your body never got tired and that included your cock of course.

"Where you are concerned I'm always ready, for you are the most handsome, gorgeous, desirable man I ever had the pleasure of making love to and nobody else will ever make me feel as you do," Scott said his own cock standing at attention as well, "This time though I get to fuck you instead of you fucking me."

"That's fine with me," Bryon assured his mate. "We can switch whenever we feel like it, but since I was just on top it's your turn now."

"Good, I'm glad you don't feel like you have to be the dominant partner all the time," Scott said grinning happy that Bryon was willing to let him top sometimes. "I seem to vaguely remember some men I fucked way before I met you always had to be on top and never gave the other partner the opportunity to do that."

"They probably had control issues," Bryon said, "not that it matters as you're mine now and I guarantee you I don't have any control issues and will be perfectly ecstatic to let you top sometimes so long you let me do the same."

"I will," Scott promised even as he turned Bryon onto his back, straddled him and began running gentle hands all over his mate's body while kissing, nipping and licking every single inch of Bryon's chest and stomach.

Bryon purred long and loud, as Scott took one of his nipples into his mouth and began to suck on it, while pinching the other one gently, since Scott knew he was stronger then Bryon for the moment and would be for the next year.

Bryon could feel his climax rapidly building and knew he wouldn't last very long at all, not that it really mattered as it would take time and lots of practice to not orgasm so quickly and they definitely had the time to get good at making love until they both could last more than a handful of minutes.

"Mmm, you like that do you," Scott murmured as he finally released Bryon's nipples and began to work his way down his mate's body to Bryon's balls. Once Scott reached Bryon's testicles he took them into his mouth and slowly began to suck on them running his tongue over each one.

Bryon groaned and muttered his voice thick, "You're killing me here. Quit playing around and get on with it."

"Oh no I am only getting started," Scott promised. "By the time I need to drain another two of three humans in order to stop the burning in my throat, you and I will both have had at least a dozen orgasms apiece, I guarantee you. Both of us will be so sated by that time that neither of will want to move from this bed."

"I certainly won't object to that," Bryon said happily. "After you feed again though we need to talk about something."

"About what?" asked Scott removing his mouth from his mate's testicles long enough to ask.

"You'll find out soon enough," Bryon said. At Scott's worried look Bryon added, "It's nothing bad and in fact I consider it very good, but right now you were busy and this is not the time to discuss it."

Scott nodded very curious, but Bryon was right now was not the time to discuss it and so he happily got back to what he had been doing and that was licking and sucking his mate's testicles, very happily he might add as there was no other place he would rather be then between Bryon's legs bringing him to as yet untapped pleasure.

~~~Bryon and Scott~~~

"My throat is burning," Scott said after yet another powerful orgasm which made his entire body shake from mind consuming pleasure. Once the orgasm finally passed Scott knew it must've been at least the fortieth in the last couple of days and even if he had lost count, he knew it far exceeded the number he had predicted that he would be able to bring Bryon to before he had to feed again. Bryon's body was so responsive to his touch, which was part of the reason he had been able to bring his mate so many orgasms in such a short period of time. It also helped that he or Bryon didn't need to sleep, use the bathroom, or eat except every couple of days. Of course Bryon had also brought him to just as many climaxes so that was at least 80 to 100 climaxes between the two of them in just two days, which seemed like a very outrageous and unlikely amount until you realized that as vampires they didn't need to rest their bodies or sleep after making love and so they could just fuck each other again and again and again as vampires never got tired.

"I'm not surprised," Bryon said as he cuddled close to Scott with his head on his chest feeling happier and more content then he had in years. "The way we've been going at it I'm actually very astonished that you haven't needed to feed before this as you have been using a lot of energy and for that matter so have I. Even for vampires energy has to be replaced somehow and for vampires that means blood, but for humans that means food and also sleep."

"Well, let's got feed then, although I hope you remembered to tell whoever's bringing the humans from town to only get us males as that is who I like to feed off of just like you do."

"I had a word with dad about that and he agreed to tell the others to only bring males that were over 30 from town."

"Does your father think it strange that we only like to feed off the male of species and not human females?" asked Scott little apprehensively as he really wanted Jasper to like him for himself and not just because he was Bryon's mate.

"Not really," Bryon assured his mate. "Dad has been around for a very long time and he has come across other vampires who only like to feed off males and others that only like to feed off females, so to him it isn't really all that weird or strange. He has often told me that a lot of the traits we had as humans carry over whenever a human is changed and I'm guessing since you were gay before you were changed that is why you prefer males not females for meals, just like I do."

Scott nodded as that made sense. "Well let's get dressed and head down to the wine cellar so that we can get both ourselves a meal as I'm sure you are thirsty too."

"I am," Bryon said getting out of his and Scott's love nest with visible reluctance, "and even if I wasn't I could probably still eat since I have been using a lot of energy in the last few days."

Bryon put on a pair of pants but didn't bother with underwear or shoes or even a shirt as he and Scott were just going to go get themselves a meal and then come right back to bed.

"Aren't you going to put on a shirt at least?" asked Scott.

"No I don't really see the point," Bryon said, giving Scott a seductive wink, "as all we're doing is going down to the cellar to get ourselves a meal and then coming right back too bed. What's the point of putting on a shirt or shoes if we are just going to come back here and pull off all our clothes again right after."

"You have a point," Scott conceded as he let Bryon help him put on his pants so that he didn't rip them into shreds. "And it isn't like we can get sick like a human could if they walked around in so few clothes in the middle of winter."

"Exactly," Bryon agreed. "I can't wait until I can actually hunt with you, but for now going down the cellar to feed will have to do until my father thinks you are ready to get out on your own."

"Let's get going I'm really thirsty now," Scott said as he headed towards the bedroom door, but before he could put his hand on the knob Bryon was there opening the door for him so that he didn't crush the doorknob on accident like he had done to several others in the house.

Once the door was open the two men walked down the stairs from Bryon's room on the fourth floor and headed into the kitchen where the cellar door was located.

Bryon unlocked the cellar door with the key that was hanging on the hook and then he and Scott jumped down one after the other neither needing to communicate to know what they needed to do.

Some of the humans that the other Whitlocks had brought from town had been down there for a week and were looking decidedly grimy and thin and very despondent as they knew what was going to eventually happen to them and that there was no way to escape their fate. One of the family had been kind enough to dig a couple of primitive latrines and leave several buckets of drinking water for the humans in the cellar, but that was all the preparations that had been made for their comfort as what was the point of making them comfortable when they would soon be very dead? No food had been left as they wouldn't be alive long enough to need it even if that meant that they lost weight and were hungry constantly for the last few days on this Earth. Actually the Whitlocks were being kinder to them then any other vampire coven they knew about, but of course most covens didn't bother to keep prisoners like they did. Anybody with a newborn in the family though didn't need to take them into a town right away or there would be chaos and a massacre as just one rogue vampire could kill thousands in no time at all.

"Please! Let us go!" Several of the humans pleaded as soon as Bryon and Scott made an appearance. "We beg you! Let us live! We promise we won't tell anyone about you!"

"Good, looks like the only remaining females are the one that were brought before you said anything," Scott said looking around the dimly lit cellar ignoring the pleading of the human prey completely.

"Told you," Bryon said smugly. "My family complied with our wishes because they love us and want us to be happy."

"So which one do you want first and would you like to share?" asked Scott.

"Yes, I'd like to share and it doesn't really matter to me," Bryon replied. "You pick."

Scott nodded and just picked one of the male humans randomly grabbing his arm so that he couldn't escape no matter how much he wiggled and struggled as Scott had him in a grip of iron. "He will do, it doesn't really matter to me either, unless someone pisses me off that is," said Scott pulling his choice closer to his body with no trouble not even particularly straining as Bryon came over to join him.

Without anymore words both men bit down on opposite sides of the human's neck and started draining him which didn't take more than a minute or two since it was two vampires feeding off one human and humans only had so much blood in their bodies.

Scott licked his lips as soon as he and Bryon were done and then looked around for another prospect which wasn't hard really as there must've been a couple of hundred humans in that cellar and therefore there was plenty to choose from. The cellar which used to the hold wine was quite large and so even with several hundred humans taking up part of it there was still plenty of room for the humans to lay down and sleep on the cold flagstone floor.

"Your turn to pick," Scott told Bryon.

Bryon nodded and picked a man that had been down there almost a week as he and Scott really needed to finish off the ones that had been down there a long time before they died of starvation, although a human could go longer without food then water. It wasn't that they couldn't still drink the blood of a corpse but it wasn't as good as fresh, which meant that the human had to be alive and kicking and not dead.

Once the two were done they had six corpses to bring up to the kitchen in order to dispose of them. As they had shared every single one that meant they had six corpses to deal with.

"I believe it is time I start teaching you how to get rid of the bodies," Bryon said as he and Scott got the ladder and attached it to the hooks that had been drilled into the floor of the kitchen tiles, by Jasper himself. The hooks were an equal distance apart and the top of ladder had places for the hooks to hold and lock onto, so the ladder was absolutely steady. It wasn't that a vampire could be injured from falling off the ladder, but it did make it easier to get the corpses out of the cellar so that they could be disposed of. It helped that the cellar door was about an inch above the tiles and so they hadn't had to replace the door as well, although they would have if they'd had to.

"I've been wondering what you did with the bodies," Scott admitted, "but I knew you'd show me in time, so I didn't ask."

"Well, at home we have an incinerator that we just throw the bodies into until they are nothing but very fine ash," Bryon explained. "When we're out in the city though we'll teach you how to get rid of the bodies as we out of necessity have a different method for doing that. Just let me go tell dad what we are doing and then you can help me carry the bodies to the incinerator, which is outside."

"Why is it outside?" asked Scott in surprise.

"Well for one thing it is huge," Bryon explained, "but mostly it's because we didn't think that the house power could handle having incinerator hooked up as it does consume quite a bit of energy. This house is several hundred years old and although we've rewired once in order to put in electric lights and sockets for plugs that doesn't mean that it will be able to handle the power the incinerator consumes as well. The incinerator is on a separate power system entirely and is run by a generator, so that it doesn't effect the house's electrical system."

"Couldn't you update the wiring in the house so that you can have incinerator closer, so you don't have to carry the bodies so far and may be risk someone seeing you?" asked Scott curiously.

"We could, we just never bothered as there is really no point," Bryon said.

"Why isn't there any point? I would think you would be worried about someone seeing you getting rid of a dead body," said Scott in surprise astonished at Bryon's casual attitude to possible discovery.

"I'm not worried because this particular house is surrounded by 50 miles of land and the house is smack dab in the middle. It is very unlikely that anybody will ever be able to sneak up on one of us because in order to see what we were doing they would have to be within a few feet and as this is private property we could have whoever it was arrested. If they did manage to see anything they shouldn't they wouldn't live to tell the tale."

"You're telling me that this property is on that many miles of land?" asked Scott in astonishment. "I didn't know anybody owned such large estates anymore as they are just too expensive to keep up and maintain."

"Normally you would be right, but since we do most of the repair work ourselves all we need to buy are the materials, which makes it considerably cheaper. All of the estates my parents own were bought back in the 1950s and 60s before inflation got to be so bad and every single one of them is completely paid for and we don't owe anything to anyone on any of them."

"Are the other estates your parents own this large?" asked Scott.

"Not in terms of land, but the houses are just as big so each of the family has their own room," Bryon answered while carrying a corpse of what used to be human being knowing exactly what Scott meant. "In fact I caught my parents talking just recently about selling some of those estates to the government, not because they are too expensive to maintain but now that we are all grown and off on our own they feel they don't need them anymore. They were talking about keeping a couple of them so that the whole family would have couple of places to hold special occasions, weddings and events like that."

"Personally I think that would be very wise," Scott said. "Your parents are right that you and all your brothers and sister are all grown up and out on your own and since you are you all don't get together at one time very often anymore."

"That's true," Bryon conceded. "We stay in contact mostly through phone calls and emails, though every year we get together for the Christmas season my parents just go someplace exotic and rent someplace big enough for all of us to gather and enjoy ourselves. I'll tell you more about that later though as we need to finish getting rid of these bodies.

"So are your parents planning on having anymore children?" asked Scott, curiously, changing the subject. Scott thought that 21 was plenty, but then some people just truly loved children as it seemed Jasper and Bella did. Most humans in this day and age had two or three, some had four or five or more, but two was really the norm. His parents had been rather unusual by having five children as most of their neighbors only had one or at most two, or at least that was what he vaguely remembered. Some people, like Jasper and Bella had more as some woman seemed to be made for childbirth and carried a pregnancy with no problems and almost seemed to revel in their condition and also seemed to give birth easily, but since Bella was a vampire she could give birth without worrying about the possibility of dying. Also it wasn't like Bella would ever get to old to have babies since vampires didn't ever get any older from the time of their change.

"My parents claim not," said Bryon with a shrug, "but with them you never know, so it's possible. If they do it won't be for awhile since the latest batch is only ten years old and although that is considered grown up my parents will probably wait at least another fifty years before having anymore, if they decide to do that or they might truly be done having children."

"You must be the biggest family in not only the vampire world, but the human one as well," Scott commented as he carried yet another corpse to the incinerator and tossed it in not even bothering to watch as it was burned to ash. "I don't think any human, even in the far past had as many children as your mom has."

"Probably not," Bryon agreed with a smile in Scott's direction, "but then you really have to consider the fact that giving birth is hard work as well as tiring and humans have to give themselves some recovery time before they get pregnant again because if they give birth to much, one right after the other they wear their bodies all out like that and it is easier for them to catch some disease and die or to die in childbirth. Plus humans only have so many years of childbearing before they are too old to have anymore so that also limits the number of children they can have."

"Plus the older a human woman is the more likely that a baby to be born with some kind of defect or even stillborn," Scott suggested as he had heard of things like that happening.

"That's true and I do know that babies way back in the past used to die in droves before they were even a year old from one reason or another and while that has mostly been eliminated they can still die, although a lot of the various diseases back then used that to carry off whole platoons of them have been eradicated as medical technology has advanced."

"Well, that's the last of them," Scott said throwing the last corpses into the incinerator without even bothering to watch as it burned up. "Shall we go and get showers? That job was rather messy and dirty even though was necessary and I feel the need to be clean again."

"Sure," Bryon agreed, "but it will be shower and not showers as I intend to join you. Besides neither one of us has had a shower when we've barely left the bed at all this week except to feed that is."

"And I don't intend to leave it for at least another week, if not longer," Scott said with a genuine smile in his mate's direction. "In fact if I had my way we would stay in bed for the next six months, but I suppose we do need to join the family and I need to learn about what being a vampire involves.

"We need a new bed and mattress too," Bryon commented, "as we've pretty much destroyed the mattress and the bed isn't in much better shape."

"I suppose we'll have to trust that task to your mother since I can't leave the house at present," Scott commented. "At least your mother seems to have a good taste."

"Mom, has excellent taste," Bryon agreed, "and I'm sure she'll pick us out a nice king sized bed that will hold up when we are fucking each other. Something that just isn't plain wood and nails though as we need something a little more durable. She should probably buy us several mattresses though as I'm sure that the mattress we destroyed will not be the last one to have the stuffing torn out of it on accident."

Scott laughed as he found it enormously funny that he had destroyed the mattress just by digging his fingers into the fabric and the padding beneath it. As a human he never could've done that, but he had discovered that he was much, much stronger as a vampire just as Bryon had told him when he had first learned that vampires were real. Scott was sure that if he picked up a rock he would be able to crush it to rubble without half trying or using his full strength.

"Let's get back to our room, shall we and take that shower," Bryon suggested as he took Scott's hand.

"That's fine with me," Scott said, "since I was the one that suggested it in the first place."

"Race you?" asked Bryon as he loved to run at vampire speed whenever he got a chance.

"Sure," Scott agreed eagerly and the two young men raced each other back to the Whitlock house seeing who was faster.

~~~Bryon and Scott~~~

"So what is it you want to discuss a couple of days ago?" asked Scott laying with his head on Bryon's shoulder. The two of them had been fucking constantly switching back and forth from top to bottom for the last two days and it was only as Scott's throat began to burn that they knew they had to stop and get him fed, before the burn got so bad that Scott ran into town to kill some random human in front of witnesses, which would mean that they would all have to die.

It was now just over two days later and Scott and Bryon had just fed on some humans in the cellar and then taken the corpses and thrown them into the incinerator so that the dead bodies wouldn't start to stink up the cellar as they decomposed.

All the children of Jasper and Bella kept going into town and bringing back two or three humans every time they did so, so that the cellar was always full. They even had a removable metal ladder that made it easier to transport the humans down to what had used to be an old wine cellar, that was now used as a kind of storage facility for humans when it was needed. Once the humans were deposited all the vampire had to do was either climb the ladder or jump in order to get out and into the kitchen and then the ladder was of course removed and the door locked so none of the humans could escape and yet the corpses could be removed.

"Well, I was just wondering if you want to make our bond official," Bryon began just a little nervously.

"What do you mean official?" asked Scott clearly confused.

"Official, as in the human way of saying we want to be together forever, accepting no one else," Bryon explained.

When Scott still looked confused Bryon said, "Do you remember that conversation we had when you were still human and I told you I would love to marry you and bind myself to you permanently?"

Suddenly the confusion cleared and Scott said not daring to hope, "You mean get married? In the human fashion?"

"We don't have to," Bryon said hurriedly, "as our mating bond is kind of like marriage at least in the vampire world and we have definitely already consummated it."

"That we have," Scott agreed with a grin wide enough to split his face in two. "Several times."

"Several dozen times you mean," Bryon said laughing his grin also wide enough to split his face as he had never been so happy in his entire life.

Suddenly Scott sobered and said seriously, "I would love to make our bond official in the human world as well. Even if we just bought the wedding and engagement bands and told people we were married would be okay because it would keep at least most people away from asking us out on a date. Oh they might eye one of us like a piece of meat at the market, but most people will leave a married man alone and the ones that don't..." Scott's grin got even wider as he saw nothing wrong with weaning out some of the humans that were blotches on human society, drug dealers, drunks, prostitutes, rapist, forgers, murderers, bullies, muggers and the like or even just somebody who ticked him off by going after what was his.

"Won't be alive for very long afterwards, which will teach them not to mess with married couples," Bryon suggested knowing exactly what Scott was thinking.

"Exactly, and if reincarnation exists, maybe they will subconsciously remember that they died, because of their own stupidity of going after someone who was already taken and had told them so."

"Yes, we only go after the ones that are persistent," Bryon said liking the idea enormously. "You do realize that it is bound to happen with us being what we are?"

"What do you mean?" asked Scott confused.

"Well, you haven't had a chance to look into a mirror since you were changed, but you went from the handsome man you were already to absolutely stunningly gorgeous. Well, like me and my family," Bryon explained studying the planes of his mate's face admiringly. "All the little imperfections, moles, scars, birthmarks were burned away and you finished the transformation looking like some kind of god."

"Now that you mention it you do look even more exquisitely handsome then I remember you being when I was human, but I figured my memory was faulty," Scott said, studying Bryon's face intently.

"No, your memory is not faulty, you are just seeing me with your new, perfect vampire eyesight," Bryon explained. "Human eyesight is very weak compared to a vampire's and even those people that have supposed perfect 20/20 vision do not have the capacity to see us as we really look. Sure we look like gods and goddess to them, but if they had our eyesight we would look totally alien and completely unhuman instead of just stunningly gorgeous, without any of the obvious imperfections that most humans have."

"I see," said Scott in understanding. "So in other words most of the population can't help, but sigh and look at us like pieces of chocolate that they would just love to consume."

"Precisely, and a lot of them won't take a no I'm not interested for an answer. In the past I just avoided those types of people whenever possible, but now that I have you I think a change in tactics is definitely in order as I will not allow some female or male go after you like you belong to them. If they back off after you tell them you are not available, I won't make an example of them, but the ones who keep on bothering you constantly I will."

"Same goes for me," Scott said thinking that Bryon's idea was a good one. "I will not allow someone, either male or female to drape themselves all over you like you belong to them and some humans will do that even if you tell them you aren't interested and are taken."

"Believe me, I know it as it has happened more then once in the past," Bryon said with a roll of his eyes. "I've been looked at as nothing more than a piece of meat, draped all over, drooled on, both literally and figuratively hundreds of times in my 160 years of existence. Believe me when I say that the same thing will happen to you as well once you are free to get out among the humans. I never encouraged any of those women or the men who always draped themselves all over me or at least tried to get me attention, but they kept coming at me like I was a flame and they were the moths."

"You often find something or someone unbearably attractive especially when you cannot have it," Scott suggested.

"That is so true," Bryon said, "but for now we have better things to do then talk about this."

"Like what?" asked Scott, with a mischievous expression.

"Like I want your cock in my mouth so I can suck on it and make you come from that alone."

Scott gulped as Bryon certainly did have a way with words and he was looking forward to feeling Bryon's mouth on his penis.

"You are welcome to do what you will," said Scott.

"Yes I am," Bryon agreed seriously taking his mate's cock in his hands and running his tongue along the tip, "Your cock belongs to me, isn't that right?"

"Yes," Scott groaned as sensations of intense pleasure raced through him just from that alone.

"And the rest of you as well? Every single part of you isn't that right?"

"Yes, everything I am is yours to do with as you will," Scott agreed growling as Bryon continued to suck on his cock and play with his balls.

"That's right, you belong to me and no one else," Bryon said his voice a deep commanding growl.

"I belong to you," Scott agreed panting. "Only to you."

"Good, make sure you keep it that way for I am a very possessive and jealous vampire and no one gets to bring you to the brink of your orgasm only to pull you back, before you go over, but me. No one else gets to touch you the way I am for that is a right that is reserved solely for my pleasure," Bryon said finally taking Scott's penis fully into his mouth and sucking on it.

Scott groaned as the warm, wet heat of Bryon's mouth surrounded his cock, making him almost come instantly, although he managed not to as he wanted to last longer then a couple of minutes if at all possible.

Scott's fingers dug into the mattress of the bed as he struggled not to come as he instinctively thrust his hips upwards in order to increase the delectable friction that Bryon was causing with the way he was sucking on his cock.

Finally Scott could hold out no longer and plummeted over the edge of his climax, coming directly into Bryon's mouth, where he swallowed every drop of his mate's cum happily, even licking the tip to get every salty drop.

"You don't ever have to worry about finding me with anyone else as I belong solely and completely to you," Scott said seriously as soon as his climax had subsided and he could talk without panting. "I love you heart and soul and not just because I've never had such strong orgasms in my life before I met you, but because I love everything about you. Even the few things that annoy me I love, because they are part of what makes you who you are, the man I love and adore."

"And I love you, everything about you as well," Bryon said. "Even the few things about your personality that annoy me," he added with a grin, "because all of your traits made you who you are. Seriously though even mates get annoyed with each other occasionally, trust me I know."

"How would you know?" asked Scott with a raised eyebrow.

"You haven't met him yet but remember I mentioned my brother Trey?"

Scott nodded.

"Well, he and his mate Lindsey used to argue all the time after they originally got together until they got at least most of their differences ironed out. They still argue occasionally but not half as much as when the first found each other a little over ten years ago. Believe me when I say I've had to listen to some doozies, so don't expect us not to argue sometimes. Even for two people meant to be together that is not possible, we'll just never leave each other because of it, like some couples do."

"But then we have an excuse to make up afterwards," Scott suggested with a grin.

"There is that," Bryon agreed also with a grin. "Part of the original friction between Trey and Lindsey was because they were getting to know each other and being mates doesn't negate that particular minefield."

"But we knew each other for about two months beforehand, will that help?" asked Scott.

"Probably, although I can't say for sure," Bryon admitted. "I would make an educated guess that it will prevent at least some of the major arguments that Trey and Lindsey had when they first met since we did know each other beforehand, although I am sure that we will be discovering personality quirks, habits, likes and dislikes, for decades to come."

"Did you ever think that the reason the two of them argue also has a lot to do with their personalities, maybe they argue so they can make up?" Scott suggested.

"It's turned into that now, but when they first got together they really were just getting to know each other which is what caused a lot of the friction between them," Bryon said. "I suppose that they just haven't bothered to break the habit of arguing over every little thing, even though they've been mated 10 years."

Scott nodded and then told Bryon he couldn't wait to meet the rest of his family, which made Bryon beam with happiness because as much as his siblings annoyed him sometimes he really did love all of them and would give his life to save any of them just as they would do for him.

~~~Bryon and Scott~~~

"Before we go downstairs this something I need to tell you," Bryon began as the two of them lay in bed in post coital bliss.

"What another surprise?" asked Scott only halfway joking as he felt as if he had been on a continuous roller coaster of surprises since he was changed

"This will be the last one, I promise," Bryon said, "or at least for awhile. You had better get used to be surprised with gifts and other things though because I intend to do just that for as long as we are in this existence. My father still does same for my mother occasionally and my mother, of course does the same. It is their way of telling the other that they love them very much as sometimes saying the words just isn't enough, especially in a relationship like theirs. People can say I love you and not really mean it, while that has never happened with my parents it still a good idea to give each other small gifts sometimes, because doing that often speaks louder then mere words ever could. It tells the person that you were thinking of them when you spotted something you thought they might like and bought it just because you wanted to see the joy and happiness on the recipient's face and not for any other reason."

"That makes a lot of sense," Scott said after thinking about it for a few minutes. "If only my parents had been like yours…"

"But then we might never have met," Bryon said looking upset at the mere idea.

"That's true, so I'm almost glad of the fact that my parents are selfish, and very shallow and I'm glad events happened is a they did because I never would've met you otherwise and you are my whole world," said Scott unconsciously running a hand up and down Bryon's bare arm in a very intimate gesture.

"Same goes," Bryon said kissing Scotty on the forehead and then on the lips, reverently.

"So, what is this surprise you have for me?"

"Well," Bryon said rubbing the back of his head in what seemed to be a nervous gesture which told Scott that Bryon was afraid to tell him what he had done. "I kind of opened a bank account in your name and put $1 billion in that account," Bryon said at vampire speed, which Scott only understood because he was also a vampire now.

"You did what?" Scott whisper/shouted in surprised astonishment.

"I opened up an account in your name and put $1 billion into it," Bryon explained talking more slowly this time.

"Why hell did you do that?" Scott asked trying to calm himself down.

"Because you need your own money," Bryon explained as calmly as possible. "Even if you don't need to eat, you need clothes, things to entertain you and traveling money. Now that you are one of the undead it isn't like you can work at a job and earn money of your own. I guarantee you that my family has more money than we know what to do with and besides it is customary for whoever changed a human into a vampire for them to give them enough money to get set started in their new life and to teach them how to invest so that they never run out. Actually my parents as well as my siblings added to your account so you now have about $30 billion in several accounts in Switzerland and the Cayman Islands. I guarantee that the whole family has more than that in different accounts in the two places I mentioned—each."

Scott almost choked at that which was impossible really since he was now a vampire and therefore didn't have any choke reflex.

"I know your family had a lot of money simply because having a place like this was bound to cost a lot to buy and also maintain and I know you also have other places, which I'm guessing are just as big, but I never imagined any of you had that much money. I know you have at least one other place as I remember meeting your parents and sister there for the first time and it was outside...New York?" asked Scott his tone questioning.

"That's exactly right," Bryon confirmed. "You're also right that the family owns a lot of places all over the world as I told you a few days ago. My parents own about 30 estates, under various aliases just by themselves and that are just as big so that all the children will always have a room if they all decide to come and visit at the same time. As for the rest of the family they also own places that are smaller and altogether we probably own over a hundred houses all over the world."

Scott choked at that and then asked just a little apprehensively, "And how many houses do you own?"

"Well not very many as I was never one to buy things like that. Well, I wasn't until I met you anyway," Bryon amended, "but now I can see the benefit of being able to get away from the rest of the family for awhile if we want to in order to get some privacy, so I suspect you and I will be buying houses in different places in the very near future. As to how many houses I own it is only a couple on opposite sides of the world as sometimes I just like to be by myself and not be bothered, but that was before I met you. Also they're not big fancy places like here, but simple cottages that only have a couple bedrooms and one bathroom as I really didn't want company whenever I needed privacy."

Scott relaxed at Bryon's words and said sounding really relieved, "The perfect getaways whenever we want time away from everything and everyone."

"Exactly," Bryon agreed. "Where we can fuck each other senseless and no one will be there to make one of their comments or just to give us one of those knowing looks. The only time we have to leave the cottage is when we need to hunt and there is a town big enough to do that in nearby in both places. Also if somebody happens to wander into our territory then they will simply just have to disappear especially if one of us happens to be thirsty at the time."

"Unless it is a child, I draw the line at hunting children," Scott clarified.

"I agree as I never hunt children myself. Actually I prefer humans who are at least 30 or over as they just seem to taste better, which I am sure is just a matter of perception. Very occasionally I will drain someone who is less than 30 if they've done something that I consider particularly repulsive or when they have annoyed me to the point that I don't bother to think about the fact that they are so young. That hasn't happened very often in my life, but it has occasionally. I absolutely never feed off anyone under 18 through," Bryon added after a moment.

Good, Scott thought, it was nice to know that his and Bryon's ethics were similar to his own at least on the subject of children.

"Just so you know," Bryon added after a moment, "my whole family is like that and they will never feed off a child and prefer humans over thirty. As for myself I prefer men for my meals as you know simply because I have never found woman in the least attractive and as you also are aware I used to fuck them senseless first in order to relieve myself, but even though I still prefer men for my meals I will no longer be doing that since I have you. Occasionally I will hunt down a woman, but only if the pickings are slim or I am very thirsty and can't afford to be to picky."

"Or one has done something that offends you deeply enough that you'll go after her?" Scott questioned with a smirk already knowing the answer.

"Yes, that has happened sometimes," Bryon admitted also with a smirk. "About 30 years ago I discovered a woman that was selling children into slavery and prostitution and I had no qualms about draining her dry, I assure you and then leaving her where she was easily found as a message to other people like her."

Scott looked truly startled, but then said, "Are you telling me that slavery still exists even in the 22nd century? I knew that prostitution was still around as you don't have to go very far to see something like that, but I had no idea that the humans still sold what is in fact their own species into slavery or that there were places where it wasn't illegal."

"Trust me it still happens and then they are shipped to some third world country as slave labor," Bryon said. "Even though it is the 22nd century as you pointed out and even if it is in fact illegal in most countries, people still kidnap slaves and ship them illegally because there is a lot of money in it."

"And most humans don't care what they do whether it is inhumane, illegal, or immoral so long as they make lots of cash doing it," Scott said looking sick. "I know we are vampires, and I know we drink human blood, but what some humans do to their own species including slavery torture and any other number of horrors and cruelties what we do in order to live just doesn't compare."

"I agree," Bryon said nodding. "Humans aren't really hardwired to behave, if you know what I mean so some are always going to try to take advantage of others and yet other humans are going to try to stop them."

"Like us?" Scott suggested with a wicked smile, "and yes I realize I am no longer human, but that doesn't mean we can't help keep the crime rate down by feeding off the worst offenders, wherever we find them."

"That's true," Bryon agreed eagerly thinking that he and Scott thought a lot alike as he had been doing that for years, but there was always more evil humans for a vampire to feed off because their was so many who took advantage of others. "Actually I've been doing that for a number of years but one lone vampire can't keep the crime rate down all by himself, even though my family does the same thing. There are so many cruel and evil humans in the world that it would take hundreds of vampire to keep the crime rate down, and not just in one city but all over the world."

"Anyway we kind got off track I do believe we were discussing the fact that you opened up an account in my name and put $1 billion into it," Scott said.

"Actually I opened up an account in the name of Scott N. Whitlock as it wasn't a good idea to use your real surname just in case somebody is looking for you, which isn't likely I'll admit, but better to be safe."

Scott lay in Bryon's arms stunned and when he finally found his voice it was 10 minutes later, the first words out of his mouth were, "You opened up an account under your surname of Whitlock?"

"Yes I hope that doesn't offend you," Bryon said.

"No, it doesn't offend me and in fact I would love to be a Whitlock for real and not just have the name on a bank account."

"Actually I only used that name at one of the local banks as for the Swiss or Cayman Islands account all you need is a string of numbers, which I picked out and have memorized for you."

"So what numbers did you use?" asked Scott curiously.

"Actually I used the day we met for both accounts," Bryon explained looking a little nervous and embarrassed, "The day, the month and the year."

"That is so romantic and sweet of you," said Scott kissing Bryon on the lips his tongue demanding entrance to his mouth, which Bryon complied with eagerly.

"Once they finally broke apart Bryon added, "Actually the meaning of a numbered account has changed in this day and age as when I was born having one meant total secrecy. Nowadays it means that the top bank management of whatever bank you are part of has to know your identity, although nobody else does as this is now required by law. The rest of the bank doesn't know you by anything but a codename or number and this is significant for a wire transfer in or out of that account. Also whenever there is some form of paperwork it also has your account number or codename on it so that the the bank employees will not know your true identity. The Swiss banks as well as the Cayman Islands one go to great lengths to protect their clients that have that type of account."  
"I suppose as a vampire you are grateful for that type of secrecy."

"Yes, but now thanks to the fact that we no longer have total privacy we have to change the name on the account and bank every few decades," Bryon said. "Sometimes I go by Franklin, which is my middle name and other times I go by simply Whitlock. Actually I mix my three names up frequently and sometimes I go by Bryon F. Whitlock other times by Franklin Whitlock sometimes by Bryon Franklin Whitlock, sometimes by Bryon Whitlock and yet other times Franklin B. Whitlock."

"Don't you ever change your last name as I would think that the manager would be suspicious that so many people have very similar names."

"Well, so far we've passed it off as us giving our children our names," Bryon explained, "and every 40 years or so we switch banks. Occasionally we visit Switzerland and contact the bank manager to meet us somewhere and then pay them off so that they'll keep their mouth shut. The right amount of money seems to work wonders and it's worth it to keep our privacy. One thing we absolutely never do though is reveal the fact that we are the actual account holder and we always have the paperwork to prove we are just intermediaries being paid to be the go-between."

"Which you always do yourself since you can't trust a third party," Scott suggested.

"Exactly, unless it's another member family, of course, as they would never try to steal from one of their own. I suppose eventually we're going to have to start thinking about changing last names, although I really don't want to have to do that as I'm proud of the name Whitlock."

"So how do you do all this and avoid government attention?" asked Scott curiously.

"Oh my father taught all of exactly how to produce IDs, birth certificates, social security numbers and things like that. My father is brilliant if you want to know the truth even though he was born in the early 19th century for once he learned how to hack into other computers including government ones without leaving a trace he taught all his children and his wife. Actually, each of us in the family do use several different names as we couldn't own all the property we do if we didn't so even though I don't like to change my name I do occasionally. Now I believe we can shelve this discussion until later," Bryon suggested with a wink and Scott caught his meaning instantly as he was no dummy.

"We will be getting back to this later as I'm not just going to forget about it, but yes we can shelve it for right now," Scott agreed trying not to show how eager he really was to feel himself inside Bryon and vice versa of course as either way was absolutely spectacular.

~~~Bryon and Scott~~~

"Well, it's about time you two came up for air," Melodie teased her brother and his mate gently as Bryon and Scott had finally wondered downstairs after being basically incognito for two weeks. "We thought you would never come and see us."

"Just wait until you find your mate and see if you don't do the same," Bryon told his sister quite seriously radiating smugness and contentment. "Scotty and I were just a bit…busy."

Everybody else in the living room coughed at that for they all knew that Bryon and Scott had been fucking each other senseless, in-between feedings.

Bryon looked unperturbed at his family's reactions, but Scott looked a little embarrassed as he wasn't used to being open about his relationships with other men or the fact that he was gay. Bryon squeezed Scott's hand in reassurance and Scott did the same back to let Bryon know that he was okay, if a little embarrassed.

"By the way congratulations you two," Patrick added as he noticed the new mating marks on both his brother and his mate.

"Thanks," Scott said looking at Bryon's handsome brother. Patrick was quite handsome, but then the whole family was like that, Scott thought. Patrick though or any other male in the family for that matter didn't hold a candle to his Bryon at least in his humble opinion.

"Well, now that these two have come up for air, perhaps we can do something as a family," Bella suggested.

"Like what, mom? It isn't like Scotty can leave the house at the moment," said Bryon.

"Watch a movie?" Trevor suggested.

"Play a boardgame?" suggested Gabriel.

"Boardgames are out as Scotty would just crush the pieces into powder," said Bryon. "That kind of thing is just going to have to wait until Scott gets control of his strength."

"I can help you with that," Jasper suggested. "I have trained plenty of newborns in my time and I'm sure that Scotty will be no different."

"How did you two manage not to destroy the bed considering that Scott is extra strong at the moment?" asked Melodie curiously. "Even normal vampire strength is enough to destroy a bed if a vampire isn't paying attention to what they are doing."

"That's true," Bella commented not embarrassed in the least as she thought the bond between her and Jasper was a beautiful think and nothing to be shy about. "Jasper and I have destroyed more than our share of beds in the years we've been mated."

"It's reinforced," Bryon explained, "and even with the bed being extra durable we still put a few dents in it, but didn't destroy it, the mattress, however, did not survive very well and has lost most of it's stuffing."

"I say if Jasper can really teach me how to control my strength so I'm not always accidentally crushing doorknobs or other things I would be grateful," Scott said speaking for the first time.

"Wow!" Trevor exclaimed teasingly, "The man speaks. We thought your tongue had been cut out or something since you haven't said a word since you two emerged from your love nest."

"Trevor Malcolm Whitlock!" Bella said in a tone that Trevor knew had meant that he had gone to far with his comments. "You wouldn't be talking either if you were still trying to feel your way in the world you had almost literally fallen into. Scott, has barely met any of you and it is just going to take awhile before he feels comfortable enough to relax and join in."

Bryon shot his mother grateful look and Bella nodded in return.

"I'm sorry, Scott, its just that you have made my brother so happy that it seems like you've always been a part of the family."

"It's okay, I can take a little teasing," Scott assured Trevor. "I'm not going to take offense at every little thing, but Bella's right in a way and that is and I'm still trying to get used to the fact that not only are vampires real but that I am now one of them. I really didn't have much time to absorb the fact that vampires existed, before I went through my transformation."

"I never thought of it like that, but then I was born a vampire so I never thought about the fact that it might be hard to start believing in something that isn't supposed to exist," Trevor said looking contrite.

"I didn't have as hard a time believing as you think, simply because I'm originally from Scotland if you can't already tell from my accent, and there are plenty of legends about vampires in my homeland, so I had an easier time accepting that vampires existed then somebody who didn't have any legends to go by. Legends are often based on truth, even if that truth is distorted and changed over time. However there's a difference though in believing or knowing something is real and having time to really absorb it."

Trevor nodded conceding the point.

"You could have waited another month or two before you went through your transformation," Alanna suggested speaking for the first time.

Bryon shot his sister a look that said more clearly then words that no they couldn't have waited for the simple fact that both he and Scott would have exploded from the sexual tension if they had.

Alanna lowered her head after her brother's look and radiated embarrassment.

"By the way everyone Scotty and I have an announcement," Bryon began standing up and also pulling Scott to his feet. "Scott and I have decided that we are going to get married in the human fashion and we will of course want all our family to attend."

"Wow! Congratulations!" Bella exclaimed getting up to hug her son and Scott who was surprised at the gesture from Bryon's mother.

"So who is going to perform the ceremony?" Gabriel asked the practical question.

"Well, you do know that you can get credentials online as a priest," Bella suggested. "One of us can do that and perform the ceremony."

"It would be easier that way," Jasper agreed.

"What do you mean easier?" asked Scott looking confused, which wasn't surprising considering he had only known about the vampire world for a month and had only actually been part of that world for two weeks, so there were many things he still had to learn.

"Well, it's like this, Scott, if we were to do it the other more traditional way, we would have to find a priest that wasn't scared of us to perform the ceremony and that would be harder than you think, simply because most humans avoid us instinctively and if they are forced to interact with us it is usually clear that they would rather be anywhere else. Some humans don't seem to instinctively sense that we are predators and treat us just like anyone else, but they are few and far between," Jasper explained calmly. "Really it is only natural and the way things have always been as we are at the very top of the established food chain of this planet as almost nothing can hurt us, humans, animal predator and in fact the only thing that can is another one of our kind."

"I see," said Scott nodding in understanding. "So getting one of you certified so that you can legally perform the ceremony is the way to go?"

"Absolutely," Bella agreed. "One thing Jasper didn't bring up is the fact that if we keep this ceremony within the family we won't have to go to the trouble of setting up a reception in order to fool the priest, since we can't eat."

"We can have a dance though," Chloe suggested. "Invite Uncle Peter and his family."

"I can't get married without Uncle Peter and Aunt Charlotte and their children," Bryon said. "They have to be here. Besides I want them to meet Scotty and start to get to know him."

"Excuse me, who are Peter and Charlotte?" asked Scott.

"Peter and Charlotte, were the only two besides me to survive the Southern Wars," Jasper explained, telling Scott all about Maria and how he, Peter and Charlotte were the only three to survive the vicious fighting. "Peter and Charlotte are mates and took my last name, since Peter couldn't remember his after he was changed. Way back before I met Bella, they were the only two I trusted unconditionally as we had literally been through the wars together and survived. It is really thanks to Peter that I escaped Maria in the first place or found Bella at all thanks to his talent of sometimes knowing things that seem impossible to know and I will always be grateful to him because if not for him I would still be all alone."

"But you're not," Bella told Jasper taking his hand and giving it a squeeze.

"No, I'm not and I shall ever be thankful for it. In any case before Bella and I had Paddy, Gabe and Trev, Peter and Charlotte let it be known that they would love to have children of their own and we promised that if whatever children we had turned out normal and not uncontrollable vampire children that we would loan them the necklace so they could have their own. At that time Peter and Charlotte were the only ones either Bella and I trusted and in order for the Necklace of Artemis to work we had to trust the couple we were loaning it to absolutely."

"Yes, I remember Bryon telling me about that necklace, when I was human," said Scott. "I found it amazing then, as I do now, that not only did the Greek Gods and Goddess exist in Greece at one time, but that one of them had such a powerful artifact that allowed even a vampire to have children and that Artemis wanted to repay you for your kindness of fixing her shrine."

"Hey, if vampires can exist, who's to say other mythological beings can't be real as well," Patrick suggested.

"I never thought of it like that," Scott admitted, "but it makes you wonder what else that are considered legends or makebelieve are real as well."

Jasper, Bella and Bryon all exchanged looks all three beyond pleased that Scott seemed to be fitting in so well with the family.

"Who knows," said Bryon, "but maybe you and I can discover some of the truth behind the legends. After all we have forever."

"So back to the original subject of your wedding," Bella said. "We need to work out the details."

"Such as? Neither Scotty or I need anything complicated," Bryon said, Scott nodding vigorously in agreement.

"Just something simple, will do," Scott immediately agreed. "Bryon and I don't need all the fluff or the frills that females seem to require. No offence."

"None taken," all the females in the room responded.

"So something, simple, elegant, but meaningful and profound," said Bella her head already full of ideas.

"All the two of us need, really is someone to wed us legally and we don't need some priest or city magistrate looking down their long noses at us because we are both male," Bryon said.

"And that's even if we can find someone that isn't terrified of us in the first place," Scott added. "Why go to all the trouble of doing that if you don't have to? If finding a priest that wasn't terrified of us was our only option it would be one thing, but since you can go online and get certified for the priesthood why bother with the other option?"

"A good, point," Jasper agreed.

"You know it might be a good idea to have somebody who can perform marriages in the family," Alanna pointed out. "I mean eventually some of us are going to find our mates and if we have somebody to perform the wedding ceremony legally we won't have to go to the trouble of going to Vegas to get married like Brianna and Gerik did."

"Who's going to do it and get certified? And what happens when whoever does finds their own mate?" asked Gabriel.

"I'll do it," Bella decided suddenly. "I'm already mated so I won't have that problem."

"Way to go, mom," all of her children present cheered making Bella smile.

"That is an excellent idea," Jasper said as he gave his wife a kiss on the cheek for solving the problem.

"So when are you going to hold the ceremony?" asked Jasper.

"I don't know," Bryon said looking at Scott who looked back at him and shrugged. "We haven't decided on the date, but it will probably be at least a year from now so that Scott and I can go into town to a jeweler's to pick out wedding bands together."

"Why don't you just design your own wedding bands and then send the specifications to a jeweler," Bella suggested. "That way you won't have to have to go to town to pick out the wedding bands and if you design something yourself it will have more meaning then just ones you pick up from a glass case."

"That's not a bad idea and if we pick a reputable company like Tiffany's or Cartier they will do the work without taking any shortcuts," Bryon said.

"If we do that we could have the ceremony just as soon as a jeweler is done creating the bands. Maybe two or three months instead of a year like you were thinking?" suggested Scott, not even worrying about the cost as he knew that the entire family had money to burn considering they lived in a house that could almost be considered a palace and Scott knew that they had others all over the world. Not to mention the money they had put into several bank accounts for him and he knew they never would have given him so much if it had been anything but a drop in what was probably an endless bucket of cash.

"Yes that sounds about right and will allow us to contact the rest of the family and time for them to get here," Bryon said.

"I'll start planning," Bella said sounding excited.

"There shouldn't be all that much to plan, mom," Bryon protested. "We don't need to worry about a cater's for example."

"You and Scotty needs tuxes, you need to pick out a best man, the girls need dresses," Bella said ticking off everything that needed to be done on her fingers. "The men also need suits."

"What about bringing enough humans from town that we can have a feast not just Bryon and Scott but everybody, that could be our version of a human reception," Trevor suggested.

"That is an excellent idea," Jasper said like the idea enormously, "and if we make say a hundred humans disappear over a two or three month period, from all over the area I doubt it will even be noticed so long as we remember to go after those humans that will not be reported if they disappear, bums and the like."

"We'll have to make sure that we feed them," Scott said also liking the idea. "Put some nonperishable food items down in the cellar where we're keeping them and also dig a couple of latrines so that they can use the restroom when they have to. We don't want any of the humans to die on us beforehand and they will, unless we give them a few basic necessaries. Human beings really aren't very resilient unless they have proper nutrition and they could die in droves if we aren't careful to prevent disease and the like."

"You're right," Bella agreed and Jasper nodded also in agreement.

"Well let's get busy we have a lot to do," Alanna said. "We need to start calling everyone for example and the girls still need to go shopping for dresses."

"How am I going to get fitted for tux since I can't leave the house?" asked Scott curiously.

"That's easy," Bella said coming forward. "I'll simply take your measurements and go pick something out for you and Bryon, since I know he isn't going to want to leave your side for even a few hours to go do something like clothes shopping, even if it is for his own pending nuptials."

"You got that right, which reminds me," Bryon said, "Scotty needs some more clothes as he can't keep borrowing from Gavin. We did bring all his clothes from his apartment—not that he had very many—but he'll rip those to shreds in no time just learning to control his strength."

"Consider it taken care of," Bella said looking excited about shopping for somebody besides her and occasionally Jasper.

"Hey I don't need anything fancy," Scott sent speaking out in protest. "Just jeans and t-shirts will be just fine. Besides there's no point of buying me anything nice if I'm just going to rip it to shreds."

"I promise I won't go overboard," Bella told Scott with a wink.

"What Scotty and I consider overboard doesn't mean you have the same definition," Bryon told his mother.

"Don't you trust me?" asked Bella with a fake pout.

"In most things yes, but when it comes to my wardrobe or Scotty's for that matter, no," Bryon told his mother without an ounce of remorse or regret in his voice causing everybody in the room to laugh, even Bella.

"Thanks a lot," Bella told her son pretending to be offended.

"You're welcome," Bryon said with a wink in his mother's direction.

Everybody except Bella laughed and she just stuck out her tongue at her son.

All the family that was present in the den continued discussing ideas for Bryon and Scott's wedding and Jasper just sat back with his arm around his wife and enjoyed being in the middle of his family, which he never would have had if he and Bella hadn't gone to Greece all those years ago and discovered the shrine of Artemis. Jasper was thankful to Artemis for without her he wouldn't have his 21 children, his 4 nephews and 2 nieces and also 3 of his children's mates. In other words he wouldn't have any of his family, except Bella, Peter and Charlotte and while he would have been content and even happy with just them he was absolutely ecstatically happy to have so many children with the woman that he absolutely adored. To have those children began to find mates of their own made him even happier, as it meant that his family got larger and gave him other sons and daughters to love and also meant that the children that had found their mates went from being content to being with just their family to being complete just like Bella completed him.

And that was as it should be.

To be continued...


End file.
